Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum
by shadowfang6421
Summary: What would you do if you had a chance to relive the greatest moments of your life? Would you enjoy them while you could, or would you fight for a better future?
1. Chapter 1: A Good Death

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 1: A Good Death

The cold stung my skin as I ran through the frozen woods. Even in the form of a cheetah, my lungs burned from the frigid air.

I could hear the crashing of trees behind me, the thunderous rumble of machines coming for me, but I had no time to look behind me.

 _Ahead, always ahead_ I told myself.

If I had looked behind me I would see what was left of a frozen mountain. The entire mountain had collapsed in on itself after a self-destruct sequence. We were deep in the wilderness; it wasn't like there was anyone to worry about.

I pushed through deep undergrowth; it clawed at my skin as if it were aligned with the ones chasing me. I pressed on, deeper and deeper into the forest.

It felt like hours before the sounds disappeared and I finally reverted back to my human form. I had stopped at a riverside, little pieces of ice were already beginning to form at the edges from the extreme cold.

Living in the wild for a few months made me forget about my dietary code or any rules about the cleanliness of where I got it. Turning into a dog I began to drink as much liquid as I could without belching. The cold stung my thought, but I never winced, I was used to pain.

It had taken me quite some time to locate the hidden base, I was filthy, and when I got back to the cave the first thing I was going to do was take a nice shower. I hoped that there would be some kind of food stored in the kitchen, without anyone there it was likely. However, the state of the food would be in question, knowing Nightwing he probably stocked up on canned goods.

I found a nice boulder nearby and sat down. Looking out over the water I noticed how smooth it was and looking down at my reflection I saw the image of the man I had become.

Starfire's old predictions of me balding seemed to be inaccurate. Instead, I was sporting an untamed mop for hair and a beard that had grown much too large. Instead of the short pudgy person she saw, I was tall, standing at 6 feet and much more muscular.

My suit was tight against my muscles and my belt was lined with more gadgets than I could count (thanks to Robin's advice). The old purple shirt was replaced with a pure black one and kevlar padding could be seen woven into it. Down the sides, the suit had a darker strip. If anyone saw the state of my skin underneath they would probably throw up.

It was a variation of my second costume, one that I made when I grew a bit older. During the last few years, I needed something more advanced. This suit incorporated light elements of the last suit Batman created. It was more like an exo-suit truly, but he never got to put it to good use. Nightwing had the full abilities of the suit like flight and enhanced stamina, I never really needed those.

On my right hand, a finger bore a ring. At first glance, one would think it was a golden band, but if one looked close enough they would notice the red gems embedded inside. I quickly sighed, how long had it been since I had seen any of them.

Swiping my right hand through the air a dark green energy with a black trimming appeared. It grabbed perfect stones and threw them across the river, breaking the smooth surface in the process.

It didn't matter now; I would never see them again. With that thought, my eyes began to tear and my hands shook.

 _It doesn't matter now, it's over._

But one thought still poked from the back of my mind.

 _It would have never started if…_

Suddenly, the ground began to shake again and across the river three of the things that chased me appeared.

They were the some of the finest creations to ever walk the Earth, Cyborgs tech and Amazo's ability to copy powers made them the perfect machines to bring down an organization that relied on teamwork, or what was left of it.

They were a bulky 7 feet and had a humanoid appearance, but instead of Amazo, they made no effort to conceal the fact that they weren't human.

I could feel the machine's efforts to get into my mind, no doubt an ability from Jericho, but I resisted, 'lessons' from Raven had paid off.

I gestured my hand to the boulder I was sitting on and the same dark green aura with a black trimming appeared on it. On my hand, the ring began to glow with cryptic black markings.

The machines then began to charge across the river, two of them flew, while the other had to wade.

I put my hand out and jumped off the boulder as it flew and smashed one of the robots back to the shore.

The second flying machine reached me first, with one hand it morphed into a sonic cannon, while the other charged Starbolts.

I quickly transformed into a _pterodactyl_ and flew up to face it. Dodging all the shots coming towards me I shot towards it and transformed right before hitting it into a grizzly bear.

Entangled with each other we fell from the sky into the water. Reemerging I transformed into a Gorilla and tore off both of its arms.

It froze up and took the time to revert back into a human and plucked an explosive charge from my belt and stuck in onto its chest.

Turning into a trout I swam until I heard, or more like felt, the explosion. The shockwave rippled through the water and rattled every bone in my body, forcing me to revert.

I sat up in the shallow water, only to find the last machine standing over me. It threw both its arms down to try and crush me, but I rolled out of the way.

Sprinting onto the shore I looked back to see it just standing there, that was when I noticed the levitating rocks.

One was glowing black and white, while the other had an aura of gold. Anger built up in me as I pointed my right hand and an explosion came from my ring. It blasted right through the humanoid machine before it could even throw the rocks.

I let out a sigh of relief and after all that I was feeling drained. I sank to my knees, only to be brought back to my feet by and object landing behind me.

It was the first robot, rock and debris littered its front but otherwise, it was fine. Before it attacked it looked back to the river. I watched as the second robot rose from the river, reattaching its arms, and the third also sat up, still with a hole in its chest.

All of them began to glow with white energy as they blasted it at me. I threw up a shield with my ring, it wouldn't be enough.

Ideas floated through my head, turn into a badger and tunnel away, not fast enough. Smoke bomb, they have thermal imaging and I would just be running again. Teleportation would be good; I wouldn't be able to even if I had the time to try.

 _It doesn't matter... mission accomplished.  
_

With that a surge of energy surrounded me and I melted into the ground.


	2. Chapter 2: What Remains

_**Ataraxia praeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, perdidit futurum**_

Chapter 2: What Remains

I woke up with my head pounding and feeling like I had downed five bottles of vodka. Not like Red Star couldn't do that, but I, on the other hand, wasn't Russian. I was surrounded by darkness; I really hoped that the power wasn't completely drained.

Nightwing had insisted that Bats install a small Xenothium reactor down here, for the manor and the cave, but I didn't think that it would still be operational. However, the power banks might still be intact.

I turned rather painfully into a tiger to see my surroundings better. I was on the main platform right in front of the Batcomputer. I sighed in relief, the entire cavern itself could extend for what seemed like miles and I had no ambition to go searching in the dark for the main part of the Batcave.

I looked around to inspect the terminal itself. A thick layer of dust coated all the smashed and mangled components. A few rocks littered the keyboard and surrounding desk. The screen itself was nonexistent, having had half the Batplane thrown into it.

Reaching under the once pristine desk I pulled the lever for the emergency power and after a few sparks from the destroyed circuits, the base's power came back online.

 _She lives again_

I remember the first time Dick showed me the Batcave. I had been so excited; I was bursting with energy as I examined every part of it. The showcases for the suits had been my favorite part, but that was a long time ago. Now they were shattered with their costumes gone, probably destroyed so they couldn't be worn by anyone else.

I turned to look at where the Batmobile was parked only to be rewarded with the sight of a crushed pile of metal that looked like it had gone through a trash compactor.

Sighing I started the long trek up the staircase to the manor. I really shouldn't stay here long, only enough time to recuperate. Walking over the R-Cycle, which was embedded in the stairs, I reached the back if the grandfather clock.

Morphing my human arms into those of a gorilla I pushed heavily on the door. The cold air rushed in as I walked out into what remained of the Wayne manor. Snow littered the once polished floor as there was little roof left.

I began to wander the halls if memory served me right then the storage room would be below this wing. I walked through the ruined halls of the once revered estate. I soon found myself in a very large sitting room with a balcony,

The windows along with their frames had long been shattered, their now ruined glass was strewn all over the floor, but I walked out onto the balcony anyways, the glass being crunched under my feet.

Looking out over the untamed trees and lawn I saw Gotham in the distance, my enhanced vision picking up more detail. Gotham always looked, dirty in a sense. Its towering structures gothic and slums gave it a worn feel, but now with half of the towers either completely destroyed or entirely unstable due to damage. I wouldn't be surprised if they condemned whole blocks.

As I was taking in the sight I noticed five different projectiles flying in my direction, instantly I was back to the original room and down a flight of steps. It was foolish to come back here and spend so much time sightseeing.

I reached the grandfather clock and closed it tight. I knew Bruce had reinforced the back side of it, but now we would find out if it really worked. I was nearing the bottom platform when they hit, the explosion rocked the entire cave and I was nearly thrown off balance from the shaking of the ground.

 _I guess it worked._

I continued past all the platforms and down to the lowest parts of the caves. I knew there was one vehicle that they hadn't destroyed.

Navigating the caves was difficult without having them memorized down the exact placements of rocks like Dick, but I didn't the best I could.

I knew that they would follow up the attack with more bots, the question was how many?

After a few precious minutes, I finally found it. The Batboat.

The hovercraft with twin turbofans sat and gently lapped against the stone. The underground river led directly into the Gotham sewers. I just had to get to the open sea and get as far from here as possible.

I quickly undid the cable that secured it to the shore when all of a sudden I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I quickly jumped and did a back flip. No sooner did a metal fist embed itself into the craft itself. An explosion followed as I was still in the air and a wall of flame engulfed the robot.

I stood there and took a fighting stance, this wasn't over. I watched as out of the flames walked the cybernetic killing machine, completely unharmed.

Without any hesitation it charged at me with superspeed, only my enhanced abilities allowed me to dodge in time. As it passed me I produced a disk of energy and threw it at the rear of my opponent.

While it did embed itself into the back of the robot it did minuscule damage. It took only a few seconds for it to stop and turn around. This time, the water behind me rose off the banks.

Realizing there really was no escape I reached into my utility belt and threw a handful of pellets at my attacker.

The small shockwaves from the multiple mini bombs reached my skin as I ran through the clouds they produced. A quick jab to the chin of the robot and multiple thrusts with enhanced strength caused bits of the front armor to crack.

It finally reacted when it started to thrash and get the distance between the two of us. It finally got lucky and landed a solid blow to my chest. I could feel the wind being knocked out of me and a few ribs cracking as I flew and landed on the rough cavern floor.

Finally getting air into my lungs I coughed up spouts of blood. Still, on the ground, the droplets fell right back down to my face. Reaching into the rear of my belt I grabbed a small syringe and rolled over. Injecting it into my arm I started to feel the pain dull.

It was actually developed by Oliver Queen as a quick pain treatment, but now it found itself helping me stay alive. Getting to my feet I saw the robot charge up a glowing white energy.

I examined it for a moment, it was simply standing there, not doing anything, or was it waiting for something. No sooner did two other robots emerge from the darkness with white energy charged as well.

I looked behind me, the wall of water was still there, entirely blocking the exit.

 _Death by firing squad_

I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. From what was exposed from the glove I could see the ware and tear from years of being a hero, and now the blood from possibly the last minutes of me being one.

Looking up to the robots time seemed to slow as they released their attacks. Three beams shot towards me with the purpose of removing me from all existence.

I wouldn't let that happen so easily.

Gather my strength I shot my own black and green energy at the incoming three. As the different tendrils of magic touched a sphere of pure energy started to appear. A sphere made of swirling green and white energy.

My strength began to leave me as the sphere inched closer to me, as it was being pushed by three individuals. I watched as it was near inches from my fingers before it began to pulsate.

The sphere warped out of a natural circle to become elongated. I watched in horror as when it finally touched my fingers the sphere exploded and everything went white.

 **Guess who's back. So I re-watched Teen Titans a week ago and I was surprised at how well it stood up. Some amazing storytelling was done. The gears in my head started turning and well here you go. I know time travel isn't that original, but I always liked a good time travel story. So, until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3: Home, Seet Home

**_Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum_**

Chapter 3: Home, Sweet Home

I felt a jolt go through me like I was being defibrillated, but after that, I felt worse. I felt like I had been run over by ten 500 pound Silkies, it was like every nerve in my body had been hit with a jackhammer.

Then I noticed something, I was on a bed, a poorly made one by that much. Without opening my eyes I noted a few things, it was messy, so either its occupant was lazy or I had been thrashing while I was out.

Then there was the smell, it smelled musty like it hadn't been used or cleaned in a long time.

Opening one eye I nearly had a heart attack, the room was familiar, every object, every piece of clothing and furniture was mine, I was back at Titans Tower.

 _But how is that possible, it's been abandoned for years._ It was then that I threw myself over the side and fell face first onto the ground, haven't been here for 2 minutes and I'd already hurting myself.

I pushed myself up only to realize how hard it was, I was actually struggling to get myself up. Once I was standing I began to walk over to a mirror to see if I had any major injuries, but it wasn't injuries that I met that startled me, it was myself.

A younger, much younger version. The person staring back at me simply didn't exist anymore, he was short, scrawny and had pointed ears, _T_ _hat's interesting._ I subconsciously rubbed my right ring finger, something I always did when I was confused, frustrated or anything in-between.

To my awe it was that it was still there, its magic had to have protected it from the explosion. With confidence in hand, I began my journey to figure out just what the hell was going on.

I cautiously walked through the tower, its layout was burned into my head after the time that Cyborg decided to upgrade all the systems. It was when the doors opened to the main living room that my jaw dropped.

Cyborg sat comfortably playing a video game, Starfire and Robin were making breakfast and Raven was sitting off reading a book, and from the looks of it she had already read it multiple times, she was just bored, she tended to do that.

It was all too… perfect.

It was Robin who looked at me first "Ah, Beast Boy, I didn't forget you, I made some Tofu Waffles." He said he seemed a little cheery for Robin, though.

I heard a quick remark from Raven about how I was up early enough to actually get breakfast this time, but I didn't have a comeback, I was still too in shock from the sight.

It was then that I promptly took my leave as the hero I was.

I paced in my room. It couldn't be some sort of simulation, they wanted me dead, there was no reason to keep me, couldn't be some sort of coma, again would be dead. So I came up with another synopsis that fit everything. The explosion from the mixing magic had somehow sent me back to my younger body.

Raven had shown some time manipulation abilities when she was much older, but this was way beyond that, perhaps it was the mixture of two different types of magic?

It seemed crazy, but in my line of work, anything was possible. I was used to dealing with crazy events all the time. I was used to the unusual so I could take this much easier, besides it was a second chance, this was borrowed time and I had to make the most of it.

I stopped to look into the mirror, for a few moments I looked at my figure, it was a wonder I survived being a hero back then. The scrawny arms and the weak frame was appalling.

I looked at my costume; I was going to have to recreate my old one, a pure black….

Suddenly the familiar red lights went off and I dashed off to the living room like the conditioned dog I was. Upon entering I saw on the screen a break-in at a video store. I approached the team from the back and noticed that they were already preparing to move out.

I said nothing as I was picked up by Ravens magic and flown to the city.

I knew I was going to be kicked off the 'taxi' because I could fly so I took my leave and flew as a hawk in formation with the team. I never glanced at them throughout the entire flight.

Landing in front of the video store we all rushed inside. It was Control Freak and he was terrorizing the shoppers as he had before. "Ah, the Teen Titans, my old nemeses." He and Robin went on to trade lines, but I just wanted to go home and figure out what to do.

Turning into a fly I flew behind him and gave him the ever so slightest pinch in a pressure point. Instantly he fell to the ground and the team looked at me with wide eyes. I just tried to keep my composure and began to walk out.

"Since when have you known how to fought with pressure points?" Robin asked. "Saw it in a movie," I mumbled. I could have sworn I saw some lips curl into smiles.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Cyborg said as he picked up a movie from the ground. "Wicked Scary, this thing is supposed to be the worst of the worst when it comes to horror, weren't you the one who wanted to see this B?"

I just nodded coolly, I remember the last time we saw this and I wasn't looking forward to it this time either. Eventually, Cyborg got the team to agree to watch it tonight and after that, we headed back home.

Upon arrival I went straight to my room, I had to prepare for the night that was coming. After a few hours of debating, I figured there was no way to beat Raven's powers, instead, I was just going to have to get her to admit she would be afraid. Easier said than done.

That was assuming that she would be afraid this time. The true problem was, explain how I wouldn't be afraid.

After some quite dinner Cyborg got us all to sit down and watch the movie together. Through every scene, I looked around at the faces of each Titan. Even Robin had a disturbed look on his face, and Raven's was priceless.

I watched in silence the movie was the creation of someone's disturbed imagination, I had fought real monsters and they were nothing like these things.

At one point the main character found one of their friend's bodies. It was just like when we found Cy, dark, cold.

 _My breath was visible in the air, the cold numbed my skin. We walked through a wrecked STAR labs._

 _Nightwing, Cyborg, and I were working this case, Cyborg was supposed to meet us here, but so far, there was nothing._

 _My eyes shifted to that of a predator, the pupils began to shine as natural night vision helped me see through the darkness._

 _What we found there would send us down the path of vengeance, sacrifice, and pain._

* * *

 _ **So how about that. I want to make something clear, I have read the comics from Marv Wolfman who created the 'modern' Teen Titans. He also did some work on the show if I'm not mistaken. However, my point it that I will be taking bits from actual comics, like Raven's 'time abilities' in the comics, or at least early on, she possesses not exactly the manipulation of time, but more like random glimpses through time, its wear and she can't really control it, but it's used to unite the 'modern' titans, it's weird but a good read. Anyways, things like that since the author that wrote that also helped with the show I'm going to do it.** **Other things will also be included, like Deathstroke, Oh I'm sorry Slade's, healing abilities. Anyways till next time.**  
_


	4. Chapter 4: Keeping Things in Check

**_Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum_**

Chapter 4: Keeping Things in Check

After the daydream, I was brought back to the movie by the arrival of the end credits. Everyone around me had a look of shock plastered on their faces.

Instantly they began to discuss how incredibly horrific the movie had been.

"C'mon BB you don't even look like you were scared!" Cyborg shouted. I just rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"Um, yeah, I forgot to mention that I already saw this movie." It wasn't actually a lie. Cyborg just glared at me, so did everyone else.

I just smiled, "I just wanted to see your faces!" It had been years since I had joked around with anyone and even to me I was rough. However, they just rolled their eyes thinking that I was trying too hard to be funny.

I was just about to leave thinking that no one would ask if Raven was scarred, but Starfire just had to speak up.

"Friend Raven, you seem distressed, did the movie frighten you?" she asked. I just left the room knowing that Raven would be denying it and I had a plan to enact.

Turning into a fly I went throughout the hallways all night, until the scream. I remembered how everything played out and it went the same way until I didn't show up.

Everyone ran through the halls trying to find the exact location of the noise but they all ended up in the living room. I was currently situated on the Ceiling, watching the group below.

"I'm assuming everyone heard that scream, but where's Beast Boy?" Robin asked. Everyone had looked around, but it was Raven that spoke up, "Is it really surprising that he could have slept through that?"

I watched them as they conversed about what if could have been before the first figure stepped off the shadows. It looked the same as last time, the monster in the movie.

I watched as Cyborg fired his sonic blaster with no effect and Starfire threw Starbolts which hit but did nothing.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven called but nothing happened. With that revelation, Robin called the order.

"Titans, retreat!"

However, before any of them could leave the room the monster disappeared before their eyes.

For a moment they looked at each other.

"What just happened?" Cyborg asked. All of the team was still looking around like they expected it to appear again.

"I don't know, but we need to find Beast Boy," Robin said while leading the team out to the hallway.

Following them, they opened my door only to find that I wasn't there. Raven was still confused as to why she didn't have her powers, and at Robin's command, they took off to find Control Freak's remote in case it wasn't still there.

Walking down a hallway Robin tilted his head as if he could hear something. Turning he looked down to see a small four eyes rat.

"Um, guys?"

Before anyone could react and an entire army of them appeared from the shadows. All of the team took off running down the hall, but more rats came from the darkness.

Eventually, they even came from the ceiling, falling onto Starfire.

"Ahhhhhh" she screamed as she lost concentration and fell to the ground.

Instantly the warm was upon her. Having taken a Titan, they retreated back into the darkness leaving the remaining titans in shock.

Robin when absolute nuts trying to figure out how to get her back, but eventually was forced to give up when Cyborg insisted they pushed on.

When they went into the evidence room Robin found the remote, but was when he was taken, simply sucked into the wall, before he could tell them what he had figured out. Both Cyborg and Raven had tried to pull him back, but the darkness was simply too strong and all they were left was a glove.

Both Raven and Cyborg ran through the Tower trying to find and exit, but everyone was blocked or disabled.

It was then that Cyborg decided to just make and exit, believing the best place the common room. Raven entered the living room first, but to her surprise, Cyborg didn't follow.

She was all alone now and I was the one who was in the position to help her. She had collapsed onto the ground, confused and scared, I flew down and transformed in front of her.

"Beast Boy!" she exclaimed, getting up instantly, a rare sense of emotion was put into her words/

"Where in Azarath have you been!" she yelled

I shrunk back instinctively, "I've kinda following you guys around as a fly, the monsters don't notice me as one."

She shook her head before I could continue, "But I know what this is.

She looked at me with wide eyes, wondering how I had figured it out. "Raven you need to admit you're afraid," I said calmly and hopped she didn't lash out at me.

She did just that "Beast Boy, this is not the time for foolish jokes!" she yelled at me. I just remained calm "Your powers Raven, you lost control, you need to reign in your emotions, your fear is manifesting itself."

She just shrunk to the floor holding herself. "No, fear is a weakness, it holds you back, messes with you." She shook her head obviously in denial. The dark constructs appeared and began to steadily advance towards us.

"I don't do fear!"

I just looked down and sighed, the darkness was now pulling at my body "No Raven, fear is good, it gives you strength, pushes you to impossible limits, to control your fear is to control your limits, but you have to admit that to yourself first."

I hoped that my little pep talk had spurred some sort of reaction, at first I was worried, she just sat there, until I saw her mouth move ever so slightly.

Light washed over the tower, I was released from my shadowy restraints and Raven was passed out cold on the floor. I raised an eyebrow to myself

 _Well, that went well._

I carried her back to her own room, each Titan was at the spot where they were originally taken. I took a few moments to take everyone to their respected rooms and hoped that they all thought it was a bad dream.

While everyone was out I took the liberty of pilfering some books from Raven, blueprints from Cyborg and some designs from Robin. I would need them if I was going to recreate my old gadgets. Once all that was done I retreated to my room where I laid down in bed.

 _Easy as pie_. I told myself.

Drifting off into sleep I found myself in Titans Tower. I knew exactly what this meant, I had this happen many times before. I went throughout the tower, seeing different Beast Boys along the way. Walking into a special elevator I was taken down deep under the tower.

Within a few moments, I was at the deepest part of my mind, where the most sensitive and dangerous thoughts, ideas, information, and personalities were kept.

The tower was only a fraction of the mind I had built up, outside there was an entire world teeming with different emoticlones.

Along each doorway, a number was painted in bold numbers. Each room had two guards specifically designed for that occupant or to keep out any would-be intruders.

Reaching the end of the corridor I was greeted with the door known as 52, it was guarded by six individuals, the best of the best.

 _And I thought Raven ruled her mind with an iron fist._

A series of different systems were in place to recognize only a few select people.

Once I passed the final security clearance I walked out along a circular catwalk. In the center, there was a solid floor. "Ah, look who's been gone for a few days, we were starting to worry." A figure that looked like me in the future stood there towering over me.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were stopping your daily visits."

"Don't kid me, you can see everything."

He was slightly taller at seven feet and clad in riot gear. Tear gas grenades and nightsticks were strapped to his body as well as a riot shield resting on the floor.

"Good to see you to Order, I was coming to check up on him, I hope he hasn't been too restless," I said with a slight smile. Order was the perfect counterpart to guard this, creature, but sometimes even I doubted if he would be able to subdue him alone.

"Nah, he thinks he's gonna get out soon tho." He said with a frown.

I gritted my teeth, "Bring him up, I want to talk to him."

I watched at the center of the walkway began to slide in 4 different sections. It went this way for ten doors and a set of rails lined the sides so that something would be driven up.

When it reached the top I examined him tall and muscular, he was a light red, his skin morphed from human to different ferocious predators repeatedly and his irises were a slickly black.

"Why hello, Changeling, Garfield, or is it Beast Boy now?" he smirked. "With all these changes I wouldn't remember what to call you."

I hated him with a passion, but no matter how hard I tried I could never stamp him out.

"So I hear that you think you're going to get out?" I asked him. He smiled and tilted his head "Of course, a man has to hope."

"That's someone else's job."

"Besides, we both know there's a fat chance of that happening if you don't recall I wasn't the only one who built this prison.

Both his hands and legs were completely encased in metal as well as several rings going around his arms torso and legs, in between, were force fields and surrounding him was the strongest magic I could conjure.

"O but I will and you're going to let me out willingly."

I raised an eyebrow "And how do you figure that?"

He glared at me, but the smile never left his lips "Because sooner or later you'll screw up like you always do, and you'll need me for some reason."

"Really and how do you figure that?"

"Easy, history repeats itself."

 **Hey, guys next chapter here, I kinda brushed over the details with Control Freak, it just wasn't that important to me. The real problem with this story is that when I go through the entire storyline for Teen Titans I want to do most episodes, but skim over others kinda like what I did for Control Freak. I'll just have to see how it all plays out. Till next time.**


	5. Chapter 5: Secrets

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 5: Secrets

Getting up was such a challenge, I was in my teenage body and that had serious side effects, and the difficulty of getting up early to train was the worst.

In my youth, I was prone to be unhealthy and lazy, but years of experience had proven that it really did pay off to be in shape.

I hit the gym before I could really think about any type of strenuous activities I had to ease my body back into workoing out. Mind over body, that's only true to an extent. In reality sometimes, you have to be willing to accept the fact that you have limits and be patient.

I knew the exact time Robin would be in to train, it was his daily schedule and even if he did I could easily transform into a fly and get out without being noticed. After the fiftieth pushup, I switched to crunches, then to the treadmill, I would rather go off into the woods outside Jump or anywhere for that matter but I couldn't risk being discovered.

My muscles burned, it was deep, as if they had never been used before. However, this actually made me want to go on for longer. I hadn't felt like this in a long time, I was used to being in peak condition, being at the bottom made me aspire to climb to the top.

I continued on with those exercises right before Robin showed up and left as a fly. Being weak was a simple annoyance, I could fix that with physical enhancements and magic, but keeping that hidden was also going to be a challenge.

Things had to go as they had before, at least to a certain extent. I didn't know how much damage being here had caused to the timeline, but I wanted to control it as much as possible.

My ring was all I had of my old life and it let me use magic to a certain extent. Everyone could use magic, you didn't have to have special powers like Raven, she was half demon, it was natural. Everyone, on the other hand, had to have a conduit, something to project that energy outwards.

Mine was the ring.

I went through the small amount of books I took, some of them I read in my past life, or future, it didn't matter. I remember all I had were books for what felt like an eternity, after….

 _No, that wasnt your fault  
_

I had tried to come to peace with what had happened a long time ago, but I never could shake it. I really didn't need to dwell on that now.

Everyone was getting up and I had just combed over and selected a few books. I was going to have to make an appearance if I wasn't going to be bothered today.

Walking into the kitchen I noticed some of them were up, Starfire and Cyborg were there, Robin would still be in the gym and Raven was probably just stuck in her dark room.

I shrugged, all I needed to do was grab some food, leave and get on with my day. I picked out something that only I would have eaten at the Tower for breakfast, a slice of leftover pizza.

When Starfire noticed what I was eating for breakfast she cocked her head. "Beastboy, are you not going to consume some waffles of tofu?" she asked. Perfect "Nah, just this." I said as I took the last bite.

Cyborg looked up as well "Aw c'mon man I was going to eat that!" he cried. I just licked my fingers and left without a word.

I sat and read for a long time. I took notes on what I was going to need and what might be of value. It would be easier to enchant something like Raven did to see into my mind, visiting in my dreams was inefficient.

Also, I needed to create a pocket dimension, somewhere I could store stuff and do rituals without Raven sensing objects or spells.

The truth was I just wasn't a very powerful hero. Sure I had practiced becoming some of the dangerous animals in the world and learned to fight and change at a rapid pace, hell I even learned how to change into some creatures of myth, but I would always be limited.

Using Cy's tech, Robin's ingenuity and Raven's magic I could become quite the powerhouse. I had half of these enhancements in the future, but I was older and didn't need technology or lots of magic, it really just started out as something that intrigued me. It was something to keep me busy when I was laying low.

At noon I switched focus to tech. I looked through Cyborg's blueprints and found them to incredibly outdated, they were probably state of the art know, but I was used to much more advanced designs, the same went for Robin, while it was intriguing, they offered little for what I needed.

I also needed to create a new suit, the purple just didn't feel right, granted I changed it in the future, but now it just felt wrong. I always kept it because of the nostalga for my Doom Patrol days, but I needed something more, sophisticated now.

Working through the night I created the perfect hybrid, the suit seemed the same, but it was pure black and had near full kevlar protection, but was still flexible, something I picked up from the Batsuit's design. On my hands, my once full length gloves were replaced by fingerless hard knuckle gloves. I was always self-conscious about mu fingers, after transformations they sometimes kept a claw-like look.

I had plans for a new one like the Red X costume, or should I say armored exo-suit, because that was what it really was. I pilfered some of Cyborg's latest artificial muscles that would be lined underneath the surface.

Externally you wouldn't be able to tell that it was enhanced or not, even the kevlar was well hidden. The belt would be the power source just like Robin;s suit, and just like Robin, I would power mine with Xenothium. If I could just get large quantities and refine them more I could have near infinite power, but for now, without any power, it would be near useless.

But this as a long term project.

On the new unenhanced costume, the chest seemed bare, it just wasn't right, sure I had the last costume bare, but it had a two color scheme.

I stared at it for a while, I always thought it was strange that only Robin had a symbol to call his own, time to change that.

* * *

By now it was getting late and I had been drawing and redrawing different designs for hours and hundreds of crumpled up papers littered the floor.

I sighed and stood up, turned and looked out at the city that I protected, or used to protect, it seemed like a gem, just waiting to be corrupted, like Gotham or other cities and we were all that stood in its way.

A full moon cast a nice shimmer of the bay tonight and … It was then that my mind clicked. I scrambled back to the sheet of paper I had been working on, for ten minutes I was fully engrossed in the page as if it were alive.

When I was done I looked at my masterpiece. It was completely symmetrical, and sharper than the original. A wolf's face stared right back at me and I knew I had found just what I was looking for.

A few Titans would groggily remember a wolf's howl the next morning.


	6. Chapter 6: Old Feelings Die Hard

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 6: Old Feelings Die Hard

The next day I got up early, trained, and then headed back to my room to get my new costume. I had to be a little impressed with myself, as it was much easier to put on than the older and outdated Doom Patrol costume.

Looking into the mirror I looked over it for any defects. I then made sure that I had a full range of motion; stretching in some pretty extreme ways I found that it was perfect.

Deciding it was time to make the debut of the suit, walking out of the room and down the halls I entered the common room. Looking around I noted that only Starfire was up, Robin must have been training, while Raven was probably meditating. Cyborg was probably working on his car, or working on something in the base.

I quickly made my way to the fridge and looked over it, my eyes when to the steak first. Hiding in the wilderness and some very limited food options while in hiding had swayed me from the vegetarian diet. I also needed to keep the protein up in my body if I ever wanted to have a 'normal' growth pattern.

It was Starfire who came in first as I was still deciding, but I elected for tofu waffles. At first, I thought she wouldn't notice, she was still waking up and was cooking bacon to her own perfection. I had already made the waffles when she exploded.

"Friend Beast Boy, just what is that dreaded thing you are wearing?" she demanded. I just looked up lazily from my tofu, "Moring to you to Star." I said calmly, it was then that Cyborg walked in.

Before he could notice anything Starfire flew up to him "Friend Cyborg you must see what our friend has garnished himself in." she exclaimed before she literally dragged him down to me. I just looked up lazily from my waffles.

"Wow dude, what is that?" he asked. I just shrugged "I felt the old suit was getting dated, I needed a change."

"So that's why you've been missing this last week." Came a voice from the entrance. I instantly knew it was Robin's. He was going to be the toughest to sell on this one; he would be inspecting everything, every little detail, the batsuit's influence was going to be noticed.

It took them all a while to get all their breakfasts together, and while we were sitting around Robin casually glanced up. "So, do your powers work with all that kevlar?"

I gave him a smug look "Why yes it does." I replied. In reality, I didn't know for sure, my old costume didn't need the amount of body armor, with age my powers matured, and I had rapid healing abilities, there were also less pleasant things that accelerated my powers, but in my younger body, I was a weak, vulnerable, boy. But then again it was more advanced than this uniform.

It was then that Raven walked in, got her usual herbal tea and left. As she left I caught a whiff of the tea, Kava, her favorite.

 _She must have had a bad dream._

She didn't even take a look at me; instead, she just walked right back out.

I ate the rest of my tofu with as much grace as a hog and decided that today I needed to make myself seem normal. After Robin was done inspecting my costume I excused myself from the table.

So today would be blending in, of course, that was just what I needed, to be surrounded by people whose fate's I knew was exactly what I needed.

I instantly went to the Gamestation, Cyborg didn't join me, saying he needed to set something up. In the meantime I hoped no-one wanted to talk, instead, I wanted to forget the world around me and just be engrossed by the games.

I knew each by heart and had mastered those years ago; in fact, I was so good I completed 2 on the hardest difficulty before Cy came back.

"Guys, I think you're gonna like what I just set up." He said as he entered the room. I was only me at this point, I looked around _Must have been engrossed so much I didn't hear them leave_

"BB, you in for some volleyball!" he exclaimed. I turned to face him. "Sure Cy, just let me save."

"Booyah!, let me get the others!" he exclaimed.

I could understand him getting Starfire, heck I could see him getting Robin out from the evidence room, but Raven? Even if she was meditating on the edge of the building I couldn't imagine what Cy had to do to get her out here. Here being the top of titans Tower.

So, we played for an hour, back and forth, we were always neck and neck. By this point we were all sweaty, I could even see just the reflection of sweat on the human side of Cyborg's face. I couldn't believe it but I was having fun, it had been so long since I had any type of interaction like this.

It was so peaceful, even with all the activity, it was so carefree.

But all good things come to an end.

That was when _she_ showed up. The volleyball had already fallen off the tower once and Raven had gotten it, but when it went off again, another certain girl got it for us.

For a second I just stared at the girl who was standing on a floating rock. The uniform was just as I had remembered it, the black low-cut T, the shorts, boots, even the gloves were just like I remembered.

Her hair was like a golden ocean flowing by the power of the wind and her eyes, oh the feeling that they gave me.

After she landed and talked with Robin I lost it and quietly slipped away to my room, well at least until I was alone. In the deserted hallways, I transformed into a cheetah and got away at 90 mph.

Once I was inside I locked the door and rested my back against it. How long would it take me to get over her, would I ever get over her.

I assumed she had just taken my spot in the game, because I couldn't hear anything from the halls, even with enhanced hearing. So, I just sat there, I knew that she was being influenced by Slade, that much I was sure of, she had a grasp on her powers and that training could only come from one person.

 _Could I get her to come with us, could I get her to trust us, me?_

I never really cleared things up for her the first time, I never explained that Robin just figured it out; I mean a blind man could see she needed help.

 _Maybe you could even see if things could work out with her._ A voice in the back of my mind whispered, but I wasn't here for that. I wasn't given a second chance to see if I could make my life better, it was to make their lives better.

So, I began to think about how to approach her, if I could ever manage that.

Later at night, I was walking around the tower to find her. She wasn't in her room, she wasn't in the commons, not even on our rock, that meant there was only one place left.

I walked out onto the roof if Titans Tower to see her sitting there. Began walking to her, the sound of my footsteps were so quite even Robin would have been proud, but as I reached her flashes of her encased in stone slipped into my mind.

I ignored them and sat down; I much had started her because she flinch when I did. "O, Beast Boy, we missed you for volleyball." She said, I said nothing and looked out over the city, perhaps it was because I wasn't used to the sight, but it looked brighter than usual.

She gave me a concerned look before I started to speak "I….I didn't….. I didn't tell them you know" I stammered. She must have been curious because she stayed silent. "Robin, he just figured it out, I mean you know how he is, all examining and stuff." I was able to get out.

For a moment she was looked down at her hands in silence, then she spoke up.

"So… you didn't tell him about me?" she asked, it was quite like she was trying hard to process what I was saying.

"Yea, I swear."

She snorted "That's what you said about not telling anyone about my powers." I raised an eyebrow "You know, your control over your powers doesn't define you, you're overreacting, you think I could turn into a T-rex, a whale, heck even a Tiger, when I first got these powers." I asked gesturing to my skin.

"It doesn't matter how much control we have over them, what they are, or even how we got them, what matters is how we use them, that's what sets us apart from everyone else." I was done my little speech, and I hoped I made an impression.

Terra just sat there and soaked in the words I had spoken, she seemed deep in thought when she suddenly spoke up "So…. you really did keep your word?" she asked. I simply nodded.

That's when the tears came, it was something I wasn't expecting, I thought she might not believe me, or try to attack me, but instead here she was, crying into my chest. I wasn't even sure how she clamped on to me so fast either.

We just sat there for a few moments, just enjoying the company. "I thought 'sniff' that you had just 'sniff' told everyone." She whispered. I just rubbed her shoulder; I was really not expecting this. "Terra?" I asked. She just looked up at me; those big blue eyes were something I could never get used to.

I leaned down to her ear "It can be like this, you and the team, just come back to us." I was always good at killing a moment.

She looked up to my face with a confused look, as if she was trying to play dumb.

"But I'm here now, what do you mean?" she asked, with as much confusion she could muster for the voice.

I shook my head "You're not really part of the team, you're under someone else, but if you come back now, you can be with us."

She jumped up; this was actually going pretty well until now. She just backed away from me. "Listen Beast Boy, you don't understand." She tried.

I just stood up, and looked her straight in the eyes, a rock was floating off the ledge now, she was preparing to escape. "Listen Terra, you can run, back to him and leave us all behind," her head fell with shame, "or," she lifted her face to see me "you can come with me, I won't tell anyone, for any reason, you can come with us and be truly free."

She stood there and looked at her floating stone "I only want to help you Terra, but you have to let me." She looked back to me, and I saw her face, I knew that face.

It was the same face she gave me when I last saw her.

I just stood there waiting for her to make her decision. For a few moments she actually thought it over, but eventually, I was left alone, like always.

 **Well, well, well, it seems we have a new player in the mix, Terra. We'll see how this plays out, but for now, I would like some feedback on the new costume. I always thought it was weird that Beast Boy used his Doom Patrol uniform instead of making a new one. Sure Robin kept his (until Nightwing) but he wasn't exactly part of a team that matched colors. It wasn't really a surprise to anyone anyways right? I mean it's on the cover art. So what do you think will happen with Terra, will she be doomed to her original destiny? Will she join the Titans or go her separate way? I already know, I write 10 chapters ahead. Ha ha ha.**

 **Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7: Excuses and Dates Part: I

**_Ataraxia_** ** _P_** ** _raeteritu_** ** _m_** ** _, Perdidit Futurum_**

Chapter 7: Excuses and Dates

I woke up to the sun shining through my window.

 _I thought I kept those blinds shut._

I had actually slept in, that was the unfortunate side effect of meditating all night long. Every single emotion was raging and needed to be controlled.

Terra being back led to a lot of confusion, but even more so outrage, from the fact that Robin just trusted her to come back. There was nothing normal with the fact that a girl who could barely focus her powers comes back less than a month later to have a substantial amount of stamina and focus of her powers.

I needed to meditate every day to keep myself from ripping the tower to pieces; there was no way that she did this on her own.

I didn't trust her, but Robin did, Cyborg did, hell even Starfire did. However, Beast Boy left the roof soon after she landed, I saw him leave even before she was done demonstrating her control over her powers.

He had a crush on her that was certain, but for him to leave like that was either him dealing or suspicious, couldn't tell, but I was enjoying the lack of lame jokes.

I cleaned up and headed off the kitchen, I needed tea and some kind of food. The first thing I heard was the shouting, I tried hard to ignore it, but when it was identifiable as a ranting Robin I knew that only one person was responsible.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I heard him yelling before the door even opened to the common room. When I saw what was going on I raised an eyebrow there Beast Boy was calmly eating tofu, while the rest of the team (minus Terra) were berating him with questions and angry statements.

As I walking in all heads turned to me "Where's the new girl?" I asked in the same deadpan voice I always used. Robin's eyes narrowed while he pointed a finger at Beast Boy "Ask him." He said angrily.

Used my powers to begin making my tea as I walked over to where they were sitting. "So, spill." I said. He just shrugged "We talked, she left." Was all he said. I could image my eyes growing to the size of plates at what he just said.

"Well at least your ability to be annoying is good for one thing, what joke did it this time?" I asked, that actually just made my day. I had a spring in my step, I felt good, I didn't have to worry about a potential security risk.

"It wasn't a joke, I just had to explain to her what being a hero entails and she couldn't handle it I guess." I nearly spit out my tea "You, telling someone what being a hero it about?" I asked, my voice actually was showing some emotion.

"There's got to be more to the story, more you're not telling us," Robin said, it was as if he was interrogating him, trying to see something that wasn't there. "He was probably just trying to get her to go out with him, she just ran away." I said before taking my leave, I was done interacting with people today.

"By the way Beast Boy, that's an…interesting new costume."

Ω¥Ω

After nearly 2 hours of interrogation by the other Titans, I got away with the whole 'promised not to tell so it's not my fault' excuse. Robin was still furious and Starfire was angry that she wouldn't have another girlfriend to shop with.

Back in my room, I felt good, I knew that one way or another that she would leave eventually from the guilt that resided in her, but the day that she came back? It took 2 weeks for her betrayal to happen.

If she came back she would probably make up some sort of excuse about having to think something out or something along those lines. I just sat down and started to continue my reading on pocket dimensions.

The hours passed like minutes and I was soon preparing for bed, only to hear a knock on my window.

There was Terra, floating on a rock with a sad smile on her face. I put the book with the others hidden in my room and walked slowly to the window.

"So, you gonna come back?" I asked. She smiled and shook her head "I was more interested in you coming with me." She replied. "Like to help Slade?" I said in disbelief, was she really expecting me to go?

She snorted "More like on a date."

I never hopped out a window so fast.

Ω¥Ω

Flying with Terra was one of the best ways to travel. Technically you were on solid ground, but moving at breakneck speeds. I held on tight, but before long we were arriving at a familiar place.

We arrived at the dinner she took me to the first time. After following her into the dinner we both took seats at the counter. The small mom and pop cozy atmosphere was inviting and I could tell that she took me here to talk. After looking over the menu I faked not wanting meat and we both got pies.

I over-reacted like the first time but proceeded to eat slowly instead of hogging it down. The fact was that the taste was bland now, I ate it so much after... _that_ … that I had become indifferent to the taste.

Then I noticed how she was acting, her body posture was tense. She seemed to be on alert and was always looking around. "Hey the nights still young, let's get out of here!" she said as she practically dragged me out of the café.

Once in the parking lot, she took a section of overgrown grass nearby and prepared it to travel. I always wondered what people thought when they found that they had a huge hole in their front yard from her. We shot through the sky at blazing fast speeds. I could barely hold on to the rock we were going so fast. We stopped at a very familiar amusement park and without warning Terra took off for the first ride.

The roller coasters, the games, even the cotton candy were all as they were before, but I could barely enjoy it. Half the time I was waiting for Slade to come out of the shadows, or for her to run away.

It was finally time to get on the Ferris wheel. The door to the carriage was open and Terra had already taken her seat, but I hesitated. She turned to me "What's the matter Beast Boy?"

It seemed so much, like a cage.

I quickly shook my head, "Nothing, nothing." I said before I really could be considered suspicious. The wheel started to turn and we were swiftly taken up into the air.

I was watching the ground intently before I couldn't stand it any longer "Terra," I said. Her face swiftly turned to face mine. "Why did you want me here," I asked, "are you still with him, or are you with us?".

She just sat there and looked down at her hands, tears were threatening to fall from her cheeks. "Beast Boy, if you were my friend I would be able to tell you anything, right?" I wasn't expecting it to go just like last time, but this time, I would not push her away.

"Of course," I said as I reached for her hands. Grasping them I lifted them up so that she would look at me

"Anything," I said.

"Anything, that's a broad category." Said an oily slick voice in the corner.

Like he had powers similar to Raven's, Slade seemed to materialize from the shadows. He was just as I remembered him, the orange and black color scheme, the armor, it all was the same.

I remembered the last time I saw him, he was so different them, so committed to his mission. For once he didn't go in it for himself, but for the fate of the world.

"Terra, we have unfinished business."

I was snapped back to reality, this Slade was hell-bent on killing the Titans.

I found myself turning into a gorilla, picking up Terra, and before Slade could even react I was out the door and falling to the ground.

I impacted with a thunderous boom as the door that had been ripped off its' hinge fell next to us. Setting Terra down she started to tug on my arm "Beast Boy, let's go!" she cried, but I had to face Slade, I had to force her to choose. Soon, Slade was on the ground, fist paused for a fight.

"Terra come with me." He ordered, but I stepped in front of her, ready to fight as well. His one eye narrowed "So be it."

I charged at him in the form of a Tiger and slashed across his chest leaving deep and prominent marks. However, before I could make a clean pass he grabbed me by the main and threw me back towards the Ferris wheel.

Things were fuzzy for a moment but I shook my head only to see his walking towards Terra. I quickly changed into a cheetah and ambushed him. At the last second, I changed into a grizzly and picked him up.

I threw him into a small vendor causing it to collapse in on itself. Changing back to human form I felt Terra grab me and pull me into a building. It was the mirror maze.

I tried to hold onto her, but it was inevitable that we became separated. Fate seemed to have a sense of humor; as I ended up in the same round room as before.

The mirrors were the same, simple but many. I knew where the exit was by memory, I could find Terra and slip out of here, but I decided to wait, Slade wanted to have his fun and so did I.

 **Im back! Vacation plus no internet equals no updates, so... yea. Will Beast Boy be able to get Terra to join the team? Or will she stay with Slade?**

 **Until next time.  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Excuses and Dates Part: II

**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

CH 7: Excuses and Dates: Part 2

I was surrounded by my own image, but I knew that in a little while I would have company. Slade would toy with me, try to mess with my emotions, but I knew what I needed to do. So I waited.

It wasn't long before his voice met my ears. "Lost?" he asked. I tried to put on an angry face, the best I could do was look more irritated than mad. "Where's Terra?" I shouted.

"Oh, she's with me, you see when she came back to me and informed me that _you_ of all people knew her little secret I just had to see you myself." Just as he stopped talking a tall figure walked from the shadows.

"So, just how did you come to know of Terra's… predicament?" he asked. I just growled, "You're smart, figure it out!" I growled before crouched down and leapt at him in the form of a panther.

As I expected he easily sidestepped the attack, and so we began to circle each other.

"My my such a temper, but if you could channel that, what exactly could you accomplish?" he taunted. I had grown accustomed to such taunts, with years of experience I could quip a few lines myself, but I would rather put more effort into the fight itself.

Turning back into a human I narrowed my eyes "You'll be surprised to find out what I can accomplish." I said, I readied myself for the next attack, but out of nowhere came Terra. He had a panicked look on her face, this had never been what she had wanted.

"STOP!" she screamed. Immediately I could feel the ground underneath me beginning to shake, even with Slade's training she still didn't have complete control over her powers.

"Tell me Beast Boy, do you know what Terra has done, in fact do you know what is happening in your precious Tower right now because of _her_ actions?" he asked.

To say I wasn't surprised that the attack was moved up would be a lie. In fact, I was surprised that Terra had hacked and stolen most security information in less than 24 hours without Cyborg noticing.

"Tell me, do you know that your friends are being slaughtered now, and she is the one to blame?" he asked. I just lowered my head, trying to look confused, obviously, they could survive an onslaught of Sladebots.

She stepped towards me "Beast Boy, you're my friend." she said. I looked up to see her face, her two large blue eyes gave off a desperation I could only describe as primal, she was practically begging to be saved.

"Dear child, you don't have any friends, you're my apprentice."

For a few long moments we stood there, Terra in the middle, and a choice that only she could make.

"Terra," I started "you _are_ my friend and nothing can change that." With that I reached out my hand to her, all she had to do was take it. I wouldn't lose her this time.

She looked at it in confusion and shock, like I might retract the offer and call it a joke, but my hand was still there waiting for her move.

"Fool!" Slade shouted in rage "you took an oath to serve me, you are mine!"

"You're no one's Terra, you just have to know that. Come back to the tower with me, please Terra."

For a while she just stood there too confused to choose, then she snapped her head up and made her choice.

Ω¥Ω

The rest of the Titans lay on the ground exhausted, the Tower was trashed by the robots and Beast Boy or Terra had yet to return. The sun was coming up now and Cyborg knew that the team would need food, so he began to cook to occupy himself.

Robin had been grazed by one of the final lasers and was beating himself up about it. Calling himself 'stupid' and an 'idiot' because he got tired and wasn't at full strength, but after that night none of us were at full strength.

Starfire had diverted all her energy to begin cleaning anything she could in the tower and was humming something as she floated around trying to repair what she could.

Currently, I was on the couch with Robin trying to rapidly heal the wound. "How long till I'm able to fight again?" he asked. At the counter, Cyborg laughed "You really need to rest Robin."

It was then that the door opened with a hiss and Beast Boy walked in, with Terra in tow. One day after she comes back then leaves the tower is invaded, that had to be connected. I was about to blow up but Robin beat me to it. It seems we might have more in common that I thought.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!"

The room was silent for a few moments but Beast Boy remained calm. Everyone stopped what they were going and immediately looked at the both of them.

"On a date." He replied calmly.

All of a sudden Robin's anger subsided and instead he gripped his side in pain. I jumped in to help him back down to the sofa. "What it, that's not fully healed yet, I don't want you to rip it," I said like a nurse.

"So how many were there?" Beast Boy asked. It was then that Starfire flew down to join in. "Nearly 200, but may I ask, why were you out so long, did something happen." She asked with an innocent smile.

He grunted as he went and picked some Soy Milk from the fridge. "Yea, we had a run-in with Slade." He said casually.

"About that,her" I said and floated over to them. Terra seemed to be hovering near Beast Boy like a lost puppy which only enhanced my suspicions, not to mention the fact that I could feel the worry flowing off her in waves. "Don't you think it's a little consequential that right after someone is brought into the team that the security system is compromised?" I prodded.

"If you think that this had anything to do with Terra, then you are sorely mistaken Raven." Beast Boy said after a few chugs of Soy Milk. Wiping his face with his wrist he looked at me "Slade was trying to recruit her, I was there and if you want to question my credibility you can as well."

"So now that she's your girlfriend we should just trust you?"

"She's not my girlfriend, and really Raven, how can she be giving secrets to Slade when he is trying his best to recruit her."

I looked at Terra who was on the verge of tears. Beast Boy just glared, "C'mon Terra, let's go."

With that, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the living room.

The first thing I heard was Cyborg shouting "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Ω¥Ω

I walked with Terra down the hallways. I knew that Raven would be spouting accusations, but I wasn't ready for that level of harshness.

I stopped to show Terra her new room, or what was left of it. "Beast Boy?"

I turned to see her face, "Why do you still want me here?" It was then that the tears began to flow, all the pent up emotions were finally coming out.

She dropped to her knees in front of me, and I crouched down to be level with her face. She continued to sob and in between the tears she asked again. "What did I do *sniff* to deserve this?" she cried.

"Because some people deserve a second chance," I said calmly.

It was then that she finally looked at me again. "Sometimes people don't deserve the cards that were given to them."

She smiled lightly at me and wiped away her tears. "Does this mean that we're…." She didn't finish the sentence, and she knew that I understood what she was saying.

I sighed, I really didn't want to be having this conversation, but it seemed that I was going to bite the bullet. "Terra…" I began before she cut me off.

"I want the truth, though."

I chuckled to myself a little "The truth… the truth is I just can't Terra."

"And why not"

I just paused for a moment, I knew the answer it was a simple one, but I couldn't speak.

"Well?"

"I just can't Terra, I can't explain it, but you wouldn't be happy with me."

With that started to walk back to my room. I barely cared where my feet took me. I opened the door with a satisfying hiss and walked in. I barely cared when I flopped down on my bed without a care and closed my eyes.

 _Why can't I catch a break?_

 **Sorry for the wait, things came up. Wright a review if you're up to it.**

 **Until, next time.**


	9. Chapter 9: Dreams of Fire

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 8: Dreams of Fire

I dreamt of fire, roaring and uncontrolled.

 _I was running through the flame, the sounds of battle in front of me. Nightwing was running as well, but he had a flame-resistant suit, a result of Batman's paranoia. I on the other hand I had a shredded costume._

 _The flames singed any of my exposed hairs and burnt my skin. The faster we ran through the building the deeper and deeper the burns were, by the time we got to our destination the flesh on my legs must have been burned down to the bones._

 _The adrenaline and my healing factor were the things that kept me from screaming in pain, but when we got to our destination a blast of pure green energy came in our direction. I dodged it, a instantaneous reflex that came from years of practice. As we neared the source I heard Nightwing shout "Beast Boy, get that thing out of here, I'll find her!"_

 _A noticeable dark shape in the smoke showed me where the robot was located. Turning into a rhino I charged at it, crashing into it, we went through the next wall. All around us debris rained down as we fell two stories onto a street._

 _Lighting streaked across the sky as thunder boomed. Shifting into a gorilla I proceeded to pummel the robot into submission, but another starbolt hit me square in the chest, sending me flying. I shifted into a falcon in midair so I didn't crash onto the ground._

 _Landing I shifted back into a human I looked at the robot. Its' arm had been ripped off and a large chunk of its chest was also missing. Large sparks arched from exposed wire and hydraulic muscles leaked fluid._

 _It stood there for a few moments, as if contemplating whether, it should continue its mission or return to its dark master and get reinforces. The latter seemed like the more plausible solution, so with that, it took off into the night, loud stomping of feet rang out to signal its retreat._

 _Normally I would go after a fleeing foe, but we needed to get moving, we had spent enough time here as it was. So, I shifted into a bird and flew up to the third story where Nightwing must have found Starfire._

 _I landed in the hole we had just made when it started finally rain, hard. The building was almost like swiss cheese, holes everywhere and the previous battle had created fires on nearly every level._

 _As I walked in the hiss of the rain meeting the flames could be heard, that along with the tendrils of steam and smoke made it look and sound like thousands of snakes where dancing in the air. It was then that I heard the crashing of wood and a few whispered words._

 _Getting close enough to the source I found Nightwing kneeling on the ground with Starfire's limp body clutched to his chest._

 _He was facing me, but didn't look up, all I could hear were faint whispered words that he was saying into her ear, like trying to coax her back to the land of the living. I could see the large gashes and wounds that covered her body and I knew that there was no hope._

" _Dick," I said softly, kneeling down to him. I rested a hand on his shoulder for comfort. He looked up at me, tears were running through his mask now, and I didn't think he cared if someone saw him this weak, this exposed._

 _At that moment I didn't see Nightwing, I saw Robin._

 _It would be the last time as well._

" _Dick we need to go." I said with a much firmer voice. He just looked at me with a blank expression now, before he looked back at Starfire. It took him a few moments before he laid her down gently and stood up. I could see him shaking._

 _As he stood I finally noticed just how much blood was on him, it turned his symbol dark red and the rest of his torso and arms were covered as well, it was practically dripping off him. It was then that he snapped his head towards me and stuck out his arm._

" _Whatever it takes," he growled through his teeth "Whatever it takes to take them down!"_

 _I looked at his hand which was covered in the blood of his beloved._

 _And I took it._

" _Swear it." He growled again._

" _I swear."_

 _With that the rain came down with even more ferocity and lighting streaked through the sky. At last the last of the flames were put out. However, as we walked I knew that one would never be put out, the flame of vengeance inside Dick._

 _As the rain washed away the catalyst of this, I knew I would never forget the blood stained uniform he wore that night._

 _As we limped back to the Batcave to lick our wounds, both physically and psychologically, I knew that he would go to any depth or climb any height to get his revenge._

 **Ω¥Ω**

Startled I woke, I was covered in sweat and my heart pounded in my chest. I gripped it tightly as if that could stem the stream of emotions I felt at the moment. The past was the past, and I couldn't change it, my friends were alive and I needed to accept that.

 _Then why do you always feel like you're in a room of corpses._ A voice in the back of my mind said.

I just ignored it; I needed to focus on other things right now. I decided that exercise would do me good, it was always a good way to clear one's head. So, I headed down to the weight room and began my routine.

I could tell I was stronger than before, nowhere near as strong as I was in the future, but I was making process. My form was a little bigger and my shouldered were broader. I hoped that my genetics were helping that along.

However, there were two things I needed, one I needed Xinothium, that wouldn't be much of a problem and Professor Zin would be more than happy to give me enough to power the suit for as long as I needed.

With a little motivation

I also needed some magical items. Raven had told me about the one shop that she had gotten the majority of her artifacts, books, etc. from. It was in the worst part of town, where the crime rate was brutal. It took most of the police force to patrol the area, which was why we were so important when dealing with larger threats.

I went and made my appearance at breakfast and returned to my room. Shutting the door I locked it and then shifted into a condor.

During the flight to the professor Chang's 'observatory' I pondered just what I was going to need, Xenothium was easy, Robin had been able to procure some, but if anything caught my eye, I would defiantly take it.

Landing on the open doors of the observatory, and early incomplete superlaser stood with a tarp lazily put on it. I turned into a lizard and made my way down to see exactly who or what was in there.

To my surprise Chang was alone, simply working on a small gadget on a workbench. I turned back into a human, dropped to the floor and then began to walk towards him.

"Chang we need to talk." I said.

He set down a tool and turned around slowly. He was a man who relied entirely on his brain, and while he was very intelligent to an extent his common sense left something to be desired.

He was just as I remembered him the first time we met. However, there was a stark difference between what stood before me now and what I saw the last time I met him. It was actually Nightwing that had repeatable pummeled him, his face had been swollen beyond comprehension. It hadn't been me; I couldn't trust myself not to… I shook my head no need to get into that now.

"Ahh the young green one, what brings you to my laboratory today?" he asked in his memorable sharp voice. I just rolled my eyes. "I need Xenothium and I want to see anything that I might be interested in."

HE just brought his hand up to stroke his chin, "Hmm, I do have some in stock, but it's going to be pricy."

I gritted my teeth " _My_ offer is this, show me around, and I won't have you arrest for illegal arm sales."

His face just fell and he shook his head "You know, you heroes always drive a hard bargain."

With that he led me over to 4 small shipping crates. I opened one of them to see 6 sticks of Xenotium. "I'll take them all." I said confidently.

He raised an eyebrow, but said no more. We took a tour of his laboratory, there wasn't anything special there, mainly small arms and explosives, nothing I was really worried about, but it was suspicious, Cheng was a man of technology, he probably considered these crude and old fasioned.

"C'mon Cheng I want to see the good stuff."

"Ah, forgive me, business has been slow, I've needed to have a more… stable source of income."

That was when he showed me something worthwhile. Walking over to a small hardcase he opened it to show me 3 small brick like objects "Here we have a miniature cloaking device, this puppy will block out radar, infrared, just about anything up to a 8 foot radius."

I nodded signaling that I wanted it and I picked it up. Inspecting it more I realized it was truly an amazing piece of technology. Its size was comparable to that of a smart phone, but its simple looking form could make it easy to conceal.

"Alright that's it, off you go now." He said trying to shove me to the door. I stopped him, it really wasn't had to do since he was a frail old man. As I pushed against him I saw a small box under a sheet of cloth siting on a small workbench off along one of the walls.

It must have been only a six inch cube, but none the less it attracted me. "Oh that's nothing just an old relic of mine." Chang said casually, but I knew better. Walking over to it I pulled down the cloth only to see something I thought I would never have to see again, in my past life or this one.

Picking it up I turned around slowly. I could see Chang cringe as I looked him in the eyes, I knew that I looked pissed.

"Chang," I said calmly "do you know what this is?" I asked calmly. He shook his head nervously "I received it from a college, he was wondering if I could tell him what it was or what it was worth."

I pinched the brim of my nose in frustration. "You don't want to know what this is or of what horrors it could unleash." With that I started off towards my boxes, Chang visible shaking behind me.

"Leave me.", it was all I had to say be he was gone in an instant.

I used my magic to fly both me and everything I had back to my room, but I still had one more shop to go to, one I just had a bad feeling about.

As I flew I looked down to the object in my hand, I had to bury it deep, I couldn't destroy it, but I knew I had to keep it for safe keeping. It may have been me, but I could have sworn I heard it make a sound.

 _Ping Ping Ping_

 **So, how did you like THAT.**

 **So I wanted to do a shout out to all those who reviewed**

 **BeastDX**

 **Kori Raelyn**

 **The Dimensional Reader**

 **As for the chapter decide for yourself if you liked that. Question, did anyone think they would find anyone else in the dream, or when Nightwing went off did you immediately think Starfire? Also leave a review, I appreciate the feedback.**

 **Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10: Dark Places

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 10: Dark Places

After I stashed everything in my room I proceeded to fly as an eagle across the city. I knew where I was going, in fact, I had been there once before, I never went in, I was only along for the ride.

As I soared through the sky, I looked down at the bustling city, a city full of life. How long had it been, since I've seen a city so perfect, so pristine.

You don't appreciate something until it's lost.

As I kept going I spotted three figures in an alleyway, with my enhanced vision I could tell that one was holding a knife.

I quickly flipped over and did a full speed dive, my wings tucked close to my body, creating a perfect aerodynamic shape. As I dropped, the ground was growing closer at an alarming rate. At the very last moment, I threw open my wings and transformed back into a human.

The man was taken completely by surprise, and as punishment, he took two booted feet to his face. Instantly, he was knocked to the ground. A scream was heard as a few droplets of blood went flying into the air as he fell into a pile of garbage.

I looked back to the two people standing there, both were women in their twilight years. They had a horrified look on their faces, one that disturbed me. It couldn't be me, I just saved them.

"Are you alright misses?" I asked, not wanting to be impolite.

All I was given in return were horrified looks before they both abruptly turn around and ran away from me.

For a few moments, I just stood there, not completely understanding why they ran, I helped them.

Was it that I just suddenly appeared and they were still in shock or were they really… afraid… of me? Did people really see me as a monster?

Despite the thoughts still reeling in my mind I had to actually buy what I came here for, so trying not to dwell on what had just transpired I flew back into the sky. The man would learn his lesson, a broken nose and perhaps some police finding him would do just that if the women reported the crime.

As I finally reached the run down neighborhood where the shop was located I dived down to just above street level until I found the place. Landing and entering I began to browse the inventory.

At first, I wondered if Raven was single handily keeping this place afloat, it seemed as if there was hardly any inventory or anything of value. That was before I was greeted by a voice.

"Ah, a Titan and one that's never been in here before." I turned around to find a frail old lady. I remembered when I came here there was a sweet teenage girl that was happy to show Raven around, I on the other hand just waited outside. _Probably her grandmother._

"So, did Raven send you on an errand?" she asked. Her voice was rough, but at the same time, it seemed like she was trying to make it as sweet as possible. Her hair was void of any color whatsoever and her skin looked like dried, shriveled fruit.

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly "Not exactly." I said. She smiled as if she knew what I needed and gestured me to follow her. She quickly rummaged around in the counter before I heard a little click and the wall next to the counter slid open.

"Well don't be shy, c'mon in," she said as she passed me and went in herself. I walked into the secret room and was astounded by what met me. The entire room was filled to the brim with different artifacts, from dark statues to the smallest enchanted crystals.

"Have a look around, tell me if you need anything." She said before she left to attend to something else in the shop.

I knew this would have to be a small visit, I would simply have to make multiple trips if I wanted to get everything I needed. Browsing I spotted some interesting artifacts, some that boosted magical energies within its limits. I also saw one, a small, almost vantablack colored pillar, it had strange golden symbols lining its edges. A small tag mentioned that it obscured any magic within a certain area.

Handy as to not attract unwanted attention.

I picked up some books as well, their old leather was rough in my hands and I felt as if I would turn them to dust.

A few darker artifacts also littered the place, for example, a severed hand lay on a mound on a shelf.

 _Wonder if it would grab me._

A few powders and other magical ingredients and I was set. I put down my entire collection and saw that she had raised her eyebrows. I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly "Look, I would like if Raven didn't know about this."

She raised her hand dismissively "It's not my place to discuss my customers to anyone, even someone they live with."

I smiled, now I just needed to keep things quite.

Ω¥Ω

Sirens blared as I finished soldering some circuitry. Putting my soldering iron in its cradle I unplugged it from its outlet (safely first) and scrambled out to the living room.

The rest of the Titans were already there and Slade's figure was there on the TV for the whole room to see. It seemed to command some respect from the entirety of its audience.

"So, Terra ran back to you, I knew she would do that." He said in his oily smooth voice.

"What do you want Slade?" Robin said, the annoyance clear in his voice.

"Oh Robin, you wouldn't be jealous if I wanted someone else to be my apprentice, would you? I guess you have come to your senses and realized that you did like it after all."

Robin gritted his teeth "What do you want?"

Slade leaned back into a chair that squeaked quietly. "I want Terra."

Silence.

The Titans all looked at each other, then to Terra where fear was written all over her face and she simply stared up at the screen. Robin taking that look as an answer replied in a level tone "And If we refuse?"

Slade leaned forward , his face once filling the screen "Then your precious city will be reduced to rubble."

There was a quick camera change to a large object, it looked like an industrial generator on steroids. Different wires and tubes went out of it in all directions. Then, the camera switched back to Slade.

"You know what that is Robin, one hour, Jump City Central Park, don't be late." With that here was a click and the video signal was cut off.

"Robin, what was that machine?" Starfire asked in a concerned voice. Robin just stood there, still gazing at the blank screen. "Dude, you ok?" Cyborg asked.

Robin quickly shook his head "Yea, just got some old memories." He said

"It's a seismic generator and from what we can tell if that goes off it will level the city, I know from personal experience what that is like." Robin gritted his teeth as he was probably recalled No Man's Land in Gotham.

"But we cannot simply let him take friend Terra, she is still our friend," Starfire commented. I turned my head to Terra to watch her flinch as Starfire said that.

"So, what's the play?" Cyborg asked.

Robin shook his head "There is no play, there is only one way to find his lair and that generator,

but Terra, I don't think you're going to like it."

Ω¥Ω

The park was empty at this time of night. The only light provided was from the occasional lamppost, each of which had an abnormal amount of moths and other insects surrounding it. All trying to reach something that was beyond their comprehension.

Terra felt a little like those insects as she stood there on a stone path. She had been standing there for almost ten minutes, alone. The plan was simple, almost too simple, but then again, if it was Robin's plan it was their best chance.

Suddenly a figure emerged from the darkness. It wasn't hard to figure out who it was and within an instant, he was standing in front of her.

"Hmm, did your _friends_ just abandon you to me?" he asked.

I just stood there in silence, there was nothing to say. If I had it my way I would crush him right here, but that wouldn't locate the systemic generator.

"Come, child, we have much to discuss."

With that I was gone, I just hoped that Robin knew what he was doing.

 **Oh, that stings, what will Slade have in store, and what will happen to Terra?**

 **Shoutout to people who left a review**

 **Azarath Cat**

 **And once again, The Dimensional Reader**

 **Thank you guys, as always don't forget to leave a review as always it helps.**

 **Until next time**


	11. Chapter 11: Aftershocks Part: I

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 11: Aftershocks Part: 1

I sat on the sofa, the last hours' events still swirling in my mind. I never really thought that Slade would give up Terra without a fight, she just had too much potential. However, as I listened to Robin and Cyborg in the background I wondered how we were ever able to accomplish anything, let alone finding Terra now.

Raven sat in the corner reading a book while Starfire watched the two boys with worry in her eyes. Perhaps memories of Cyborg leaving the team coming to mind.

Cyborg was much taller than Robin so it made him naturally more imposing, but Robin was so pushover and even with the cybernetic finger in his face he still had a sense of cool.

"I'm telling you, we should have put a tracker on her as a backup!"

"And what if Slade found it? He's obviously going to search for them and I dought he would be very forgiving."

"It would have been better than this plan, I don't even know if the seismographs will be able to pick up quakes that small."

It was true that it was a risky plan, but it was the best shot we had. Terra was supposed to create little quakes that were in theory supposed to be picked up by seismographs which would be able to triangulated here.

Then again, even though Jump was on the West Coast, most of the equipment was old and deteriorating. That was in part the fault of a police force needing to be modernized to keep up with the latest supervillains.

Up on the main screen, there was a 3D map of the city, so far Cyborg had tapped into all the seismographs and nothing was being picked up.

"Cyborg, are you sure that you are using all the graphs that measure seismos?"

Cyborg paused at looked at Starfire before letting out a sigh.

"Yea, I'm just worried that…."

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Almost all of us jumped at the loud and high pitched beeping coming from the screen. On it, a red dot was seen just outside the park, indicating that that was the epicenter of a small quake. Cyborg was the first to the console and sighed in relief.

"The quake is just barely being picked up, you wouldn't even be able to feel it if you were there," Cyborg said incredibly.

We all watched now, even Raven had set down her book and watched the screen. Soon the dot moved down the street, and a few moments later it was three blocks away.

Robin crossed his arms "Now we wait."

Ω¥Ω

Terra couldn't believe what she was seeing. Slade had taken her beneath some sort of abandoned building and down to this cavern. It was an excellent choice, but only if he had her.

Various equipment was thrown everywhere and at the moment Slade was furiously typing away on a console. I was having a look around for any easy exits or new equipment that I could inform the team about.

"Terra."

That voice, it seemed to have a viscosity of oil, the slickness of it never failed to send a shiver down my spine.

"I'm going to need you for the next part of the plan, we had an agreement remember?"

I gritted my teeth. "I seem to remember that you tricked me." I barked back.

"Ah, child I never lied, Beast Boy may have accepted you, even forgiven you, but once the others find out what you have done, well let's just say yesterday's garbage will have a better fate than you."

I just hung my head in shame, he was right. Beast Boy was a special case, he was different, I just couldn't put my finger on it. He was probably going down with me on this one.

That was when my thoughts were interrupted by a syringe going into my neck.

Ω¥Ω

As we all watched the screen the blinking dot suddenly stopped. The last known position showed what we thought was the position of Slade's layer. Within moments Cyborg had the architectural layouts of the building and any subterranean structures.

"Guys look at this!"

We all gathered in front of the screen as it showed the 3D layout of the building.

"So, this building had been abandoned for years right? I checked any and all records of underground structures and guess what I found?"

"Oh, dear friend Cyborg do not tell us it is the home of an untamed Glorfelher!"

We all looked at Starfire in confusion. Upon realizing we may not have that species here she quickly smiled and blushed.

"They are giant insects that inhabit caves on Tamerian, they are quite nice pets when domesticated."

"Well, you're not exactly wrong there Star."

With a few strokes of the keyboard, a file was brought up which showed a picture of a document. Its paper was very old, showing its age by its color which was yellow.

"Cyborg, I'm sorry but what exactly does this have to do with that building?" Raven asked.

Cyborg started to warm up a long and overcomplicated explanation before Raven put up a hand to stop him "The quick version."

Letting out a sigh of disappointment Cyborg continued "Well this is the original report for the foundation, which includes evaluation of soil composition and….."

It took only one glance at Raven from Cyborg to know that he was testing her patience. Freezing Cyborg conceded defeat.

"There's probably a cave underneath."

Robin then stepped up

"If it's there we'll find it; Raven would you mind?"

A black disk appeared on the floor which engulfed everyone. It was little nostalgic as the shadows passed me, I remembered so much time training with these things that I had a completely different view of them, but as soon as it started the ride ended.

"Alright team, Beast Boy I want you to dig, find that cave at any cost, we'll have a look around for any entrances."

With that, they left. _Why do I get stuck with all the dirty jobs?_ Quickly turning into a mole I scrambled down into the ground.

I kept up a quick pace, the soil was actually fairly forgiving as I dug and I made good time. Soon I found myself reaching the edges of the cavern.

When I burrowing in from the ceiling I fell down but transformed into a cat to break the fall. It seemed like Slade was expecting us because he was standing right in front of me

The cave was clad with stalactites and stalagmites. All around the natural beauty of the cave was reminiscent of the Batcave. Even the machinery and technology littered throughout reminded me of the time under Wayne Manor, but instead of being used for good, these machines had a sinister master.

"Hello Beast Boy, do you like the new base?" he asked nonchalantly.

I just glared "Where's Terra?"

He heaved "Since when are you so direct? Very well you may see your _friend_."

With that Terra appeared from behind him, clad in silver.

 **And there we go, a start for things to come. Sorry about the wait, college is beginning again and I have to start getting ready for school. I would start to expect updates along the lines of every 4-6 days, simply because I actually need sleep.**

 **So tell me if you like this, leave a review, also I want to know what you guys think should happen with Terra, I already have it set in stone, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.**

 **Shoutouts to...**

 **The Dimensional Reader (3 Reviews so far, thanks)**

 **Azarath Cat (2 Reviews so far, thanks)**

 **As always, until next time.**


	12. Chapter 12: Aftershock Part: II

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Ch12: Aftershocks Part II

I stood there for a moment, it took everything to keep myself calm and remind myself that she was still on our side. My head was racing from my inner turmoil when a hand rested on my shoulder.

I attacked in the form of a grizzly and destroyed the first few sladebots. It was nothing special, just a swipe of the arm and the robots were dealt with, their blasters rendered useless on the floor. Shifting back into human form I turned to face my opposites.

"So are all your robots made in China, because these guys have some quality issues."

Slade narrowed his eye, seemingly unaffected by the comment.

"Terra, attack."

With a war cry, bits of ceiling rained down on me. Shifting into a cheetah I started to dodge them and dash towards Terra.

The ground peeled up in front of me, but I jumped over it and weaved through more pieced of rock begin sent at me like javelins.

As I closed in I shifted back into human form and with Slade forgotten I tackled her to the ground.

"Terra listen to me, you can fight it, you don't have to do this."

I saw a single tear fall down her eye as a fresh piece of rock slammed into my side. As I flew through the air I activated my beacon for the rest of the team to find me, hopefully, I could help Terra before things got out of hand.

As I hit the ground I heard the sounds of the team arriving, I was still against the far wall, some ways away from them. The bolder had hurt, but I had felt worse pain in my life. I steadily started to get up, but then I heard Raven's voice.

"Ha! I knew she was with him!"

With the team now backing me up and my breath finally returning I looked up to see Terra once again standing obediently at the side of her forced master. Slade still held his impressive stance, even in the face of all the Titans.

"On the contrary, I have simply recollected her, she seemed to have a change of heart in the middle of her mission but no matter, she is back to where she belongs."

I could see that Terra was fighting the control, she was gritting her teeth and even with shut eyes, tears were flowing freely. I prayed Slade wouldn't continue, however, Slade wouldn't leave such a topic alone.

"What surprised me was the fact that one of you knew all along, I don't know how, but he didn't warn anyone, he even covered for her when they returned."

My heart sank as I felt the eyes of the entire team looking at me.

Starfire's confusion

Cyborgs realization.

Robin's suspicion.

And Raven's fury.

Slade actually chuckled. "Ah, the worst betrayal is from the inside isn't it?"

I clenched my teeth. "Her apprenticeshipwith you was based on a lie and when it was exposed that partnership dissolved with it."

"Is it true, friend Beast Boy?" I looked back at the team, I would have been afraid of them a long time ago, but I didn't feel any fear now, just worry. I was worried that I would lose the only chance I had of fixing this world.

I sighed "It's true I knew she was working for Slade, but I knew she was angry and confused, so I gave her a chance, one she hasn't broken."

Raven was the first to speak "You lied to us, mislead us, and let a known traitor live in our own home, WHY? because she's your girlfriend!?"

I glared at her "She's not my girlfriend," I was beginning to get agitated "besides you're one to talk about not giving others a chance, now if we could finish this later."

With that, I ended the conversation by turning back into a cheetah and charging the two figures in front of me. Slade raised his hand and in mirrored action Terra did the same. Stone pillars flew up out of the ground but I weaved in and out of them and finally reached them again.

Turning into a crocodile midway through a punch I latched down on Slade's chest, twisted and threw him into some containers. Suddenly, Sladebots began to swarm the room, within moments the entire team was engaged in battle.

I stopped next to Terra. "Hey, what's up," I said casually and proceeded to open a hatch on the back of her armor. "I thought that you... You wouldn't come for me."

I smiled as I looked over the circuitry it was not complex in the least and with a swift smashing from my hand Slade's control would end, but it wouldn't be that easy.

"No, Terra attack!" I heard him yell and an elbow went directly into my gut.

With the air now knocked out of me I stumbled back, only to have my face take another nasty punch.

The next blow I was able to catch, and after a quick twist of the arm which merited a cry of pain from Terra I brought my foot down behind her knee, bringing her down to the floor.

"Terra, you can fight it," I said,

"I… I can't!" she sobbed as she fought my grip.

"Yes you can, you're stronger than you know." I said and then in less than a whisper "Don't make me lose you again."

All I was given in repose was her legs swinging, sweeping out mine, and forcing me to the floor.

Quickly she had a rock levitated above my head, I thought for a moment that I had failed, that I had thrown away my only second chance, but instead, the rock stopped midway through it's fatal decent.

"TERRA, DO IT!" yelled Slade.

I looked past the rock and into her face, it was contorted, she was putting everything into not letting this rock fall. I saw my chance and I took it.

"You're not a killer Terra," I said in, despite my surroundings, a calm voice "you're Terra, the girl who loves pie, who is part of a family. You're Terra and no one, not even Slade can change that."

Tears began to flow down her face and consistently drop on me now. With a defending cry, one I recognized as full desperation, the rock slammed down. Inches from my face.

For a few moments, nothing happened and I quickly took the opportunity to reach up from her grasp and pull out as many wires as possible from her back.

We both quickly got up, her

She turned slowly to look at me, distress was written all over her face, but she instantly took me into an embrace, she latched onto me with such strength it was hard to breathe. Then the tears came.

She sobbed into my shoulder, the constant tears making my uniform wet. All I could hear was the continuous stream. of "Thank you"

For a few moments we just stood there, not caring about the rest of the world, but it was when the quakes began that things started to get out of control.

Ω¥Ω

 _He lied to us, he lied to us._

Was it so difficult to accept? As I threw dark energy and bits of machinery at the Sladebots I couldn't help my mind from reeling.

I knew they couldn't have just gone on a date, but what happened exactly? If Beast Boy did know why didn't he tell the team?

 _You're one to talk about not giving others a chance._ That line still ringed in my head, playing over and over. What could he be talking about? I never betrayed anyone.

However, I couldn't dwell on this for long as the ground began to shake, the walls of earth began to rattle and bits of stone fell from the cave's roof. With white eyes I looked for Terra, but when I saw her with Beast Boy. I knew it wasn't her and my gut twisted.

It meant the machine was activated.

I flew from the battle looking for Slade and the machine and I found them. Off to the side of the cavern Slade was watching as the machine powered up, bits of it began to light up from its activation. I levitated a fallen bolder and launched it at the machine.

Upon impact, the device was utterly crushed, but the shakes didn't stop.

Slade, who had been forced to the ground by the impact was chuckling as he began to get up. I rushed over to him and picked him up.

"What did you do!"

He looked at me with his one eye. "You don't think I would choose this area just because of its underground, no we're on an ancient volcano."

My eyes widened and dropping him I rushed back to the Titans.

Reaching them I landed just as Cyborg finished the last robot. Terra and Beast Boy had rejoined the group, but I could see that the others were looking at them, each with their own emotions.

"Listen, Slade chose this place for a reason, he said he activated a volcano," I said quickly.

Just as the words left my mouth the ground began to split on the other side of the cavern and lava shot out from some of the cracks. Cyborg, who already had his holo projector out nodded "Yea and if my readings are correct this place will have enough power to wipe out the city."

Suddenly all eyes turned to Terra. I couldn't believe this; we were going to put the safety of the city in the hands of a traitor. She got the message but shook her head.

"Guys, I may be good, but I'm not all-powerful. I…I can't do this."

It was then that Beast Boy put a gloved hand on her armored shoulder.

"We believe in you."

I thought it was a stretch to use the word 'we', but it seemed to spike her confidence.

She nodded and slowly her eyes turned gold and her body proceeded to glow gold as she tried to will the awakening beast back into slumber. Even with her only beginning, the rattling of the cave walls seemed to lessen.

However, more and more of the floor was collapsing into a growing lava lake. Off in the distance, I saw Slade, on another island made of rock. Taking out a grenade he readied himself, then threw it with all his strength.

I had to commend him on his flawless form, but I caught it midflight in a black field where it exploded. It was aimed right for Terra and everyone but Beast Boy, who looked ready to intervene himself, were oblivious to the recent event.

Looking back to the team's nemesis I watched as he tried to navigate his way out of the lava field.

Jumping from pillar to pillar he was only one away from the edge when a stalactite fell and crushed the pillar he was on. I watched and actually felt slight pity for him as he was consumed by lava.

 _It's not like I've seen worse._

As I watched the last of his mask devoured by the red hot magma a yell that shook the cavern also shook me from my thoughts.

I looked over to Beast Boy who was watching himself, but he showed no emotion, I couldn't even feel anything from him. It was like every day he was more different from the jokester I knew.

I looked over to see Terra, now almost glowing pure gold, trying her best to keep the volcano from exploding. I knew there would be a slim possibility that she could pull it off so I stood by the team, ready to teleport us away if necessary.

I never got a chance as a yell and golden flash emitted from Terra. The shakes stopped and the light died, while Terra remained standing here.

She turned around slowly, her body displaying how tired she was. Her knees began to buckle but Beast Boy caught her mid-fall.

He whispered some unknown reassuring words to her before looking up.

"Can we go home now?"

 **It's over, it's finally over, or is it? Find out next time! God, I sound like some TV announcer.**

 **Anyways this was a nice long chapter for you guys, I probably could have stretched it into a part III, but I thought this was best. Now we can get into the next season which is my least favorite, I know it has some good gems, but god the overall plotline is…. well, if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all.**

 **So, the reviewers. Looks like we have two people who love to review, you guys know who they are.**

 **The Dimensional Reader**

 **and**

 **Azarath Cat!**

 ***Insert MLG horn here***

 **So please review, or not the choice is yours.**

 **Until next time.**


	13. Chapter 13: Explanations

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 13: Explanations

Everyone returned back to the tower with Robin shouting about hitting the showers. No one realized how completely exhausted and sweaty they were. Being around lava was an exhausting activity. However, he didn't fail to mention a meeting in the common room afterward.

I stood under the showerhead in my own bathroom. I could say that I was a bit spoiled back then. After all, we lived without any adult supervision, had private rooms and bathrooms, and almost no bills.

As I stood there basking in the heat of the water my muscles finally began to relax. My breathing steadied as the hot air and steam entered my body and the adrenaline from the fight worked its way out of my system.

I once savored the feeling after the battle, the adrenaline, the rush. I once wanted nothing more than to be a fighter for people who couldn't fight for themselves, but those days were long gone, literally not existing anymore. Now I was here and was facing the consequences of my actions.

I closed my eyes, I knew that I would have to face this, but there had simply been no other way. Coming clean at the beginning would only cause more problems and throw the entire timeline away from what I already knew. Simply breaking to the team that Terra was a spy and not disarming her of her anger at the team would probably be just as bad.

I sighed the biggest question would come with the confusion on why I knew she was Slade's spy. I would have to just put it off as a hunch, saying that there was only one way she would have excelled in her abilities so fast, Slade. Back then I would have probably tried to get her to come back alone, I tried to do so when I meet her after the whole Brotherhood incident.

That was it, just play it off like it was nothing, Robin would try to look past it, Cyborg would probably easily forgive me, being the big brother and all. Starfire would be angry that he did not share the news with her and Raven, well I was literally a dead man walking anyway.

This whole charade was exhausting, covering my tracks and trying to influence the team in the right direction was hard work.

After I was satisfied with the shower, which wasn't long since I was used to not having access to them, I got out and wrapped myself in a towel. The entire room was filled with steam, I never realized how hot I had the shower.

Going over to the mirror I wiped away the condensation so I could see my reflection. As I looked over my body I noticed little muscle had appeared, but not much, it was going to take much longer to build up any.

For a moment I was going to trace the scars, recall all the horrible memories I got from them, I could swear I had seen them for a moment, but then I realized me skill was clean, untouched. How long would it be till I acquired the first one? How long could I be void of war?

I looked at my face, the face haunted me, it wasn't me, it was someone else. It seemed so innocent so happy…..

*knock* *knock*

"Hurry up Grass Stain, Robin will chew you out if you're out here last." Cyborgs synthetic arms punched on the door again, but to his surprise, I was there only second later.

Years of surprise alarms had me master the art of quickly changing into costume, that or the drilling by Dick.

"You ready?" he asked, I only nodded knowing what I was going into. As we walked down the hallways Cyborg turned to me.

"So, Slade's gone man, getting barbecued in lava isn't exactly how I would want to go out."

I smiled "Well, I can't say I like deep fried, but…"

It was then that I realized we had arrived at the common room. Everyone was there, except Raven. I knew she must be mediating, but that would buy me a little bit of time. All eyes turned to us as we entered.

Robin's eyes narrowed as I walked with Cyborg, I could see the gears turning, wondering how I knew and it had passed by him so easily.

Starfire looked down at the floor, she seemed to think that if she didn't look at me then the hurt she must be feeling would go away.

Terra looked at me as if I was the only thing that kept her alive, and in a sense I was, I was the only one who continually put trust in her and now she needed me more than ever.

Sitting down on one of the levels of the room we waited for Raven, it wasn't too long before a black portal appeared in the ceiling and the sorceress came floating out of it. I couldn't help but inwardly smile at the grace she could pull that off, most people would be disoriented, but she did it so flawlessly.

A quick clearing of the throat by Robin signaled a meeting in session.

"So let's address the elephant in the room."

"Which one." Came a smug remark from Raven.

Terra shifted uncomfortably, but I remained strong and crossed my arms.

Robin seemed to have a slow, de-escalating, nature about him, but at the same time, he needed to sort out this mess.

"Before _anyone_ starts accusing, or judging I think we should hear from them both." He said while looking at all the other Titans.

"I do the seconding of this."

Cyborg nodded and Raven just scowled.

Robin looked at Terra and nodded.

Pushing a piece of hair behind her ear self-consciously she began to describe what had happened in the mines, and how Slade had offered her help.

"He also made the argument that even though I trusted Beast Boy with the fact I didn't have the best control over my powers, he would eventually tell everyone."

Robin seemed to be dragged into the story with the tactics Slade had used against her as if studying his appointed before the next match.

"I was just so embarrassed by the fact I couldn't control them that I…." she stopped there, knowing she had said something a little too personal she backtracked.

"Well, the rest you know, I was just so upset that I thought Beast Boy had just told everyone that when he found me again and promised that I could get even, well…."

Sighing and looking up her looked straight at Robin. "After he left me here I didn't go back, not even after I had a chat with Beast Boy, but by that time I had already given him clearance codes."

"HA, I knew it!" Raven shouted, four red eyes glared from under her cloak. It was that that sent Terra over the edge to where she was now crying.

"Raven!" Robin shouted it seemed to do the trick as Raven blinked and sank back down into the seat where she was sitting.

Turing to me Robin nodded for me to explain myself.

"I had a hunch, you go off evidence Robin, I went off instinct," I explained, I was selling bullshit and I had to get Robin to buy in bulk.

"All I did was talk to her on the roof and at the mention of that she took off." I shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"And you didn't think to tell us, maybe to change the access codes?" Raven inquired.

I shrugged again "I didn't know what she had or hadn't done, so I wasn't going to go around spouting that she was a spy and when she came back and came clean I let it drop."

" _After_ the fact that the tower was attacked, Beast Boy you shouldn't keep things from us," Robin said it was a calm voice, that of a leader.

I stifled a laugh and reclined back a bit, trying to give off carefree attitude "C'mon _Red X_ of all the people here, you may have the most secrets."

Silence took the room by storm.

It was Cyborg who ended it. "If I could just clear something up, um, BB are you and Terra like a thing."

Most of us physically facepalmed. I decided it needed to be cleared up eventually so I decided to give him an answer.

"No, moving on."

Terra just looked disappointed, but it was for her own good, I could never be with her, with anyone, it had to be that way.

Starfire seemed to finally want to be involved all of a sudden.

"So, Beast Boy, if she is not your betrothed, then why did you continually help her?"

It was then that all eyes boarded into me like one of Slade's old drills. Sighing I rubbed the back of my head and looked right at Terra.

"Because I believe some people deserve a chance to make things right."

Robin groaned and rubbed his temples. The stress of the situation finally getting to him.

"Alright, let's put it to a vote, all those in favor of punishing Beast Boy for his actions?"

Raven's hand shot up, that was expected, Robin also raised his, it was then that Starfire raised her hand.

"On Tamaran we do not take lightly to betrayal, but I do not believe that friend Beast Boy deserves severe punishment, maybe the duty of the dishes, or extra training."

Robin took a deep breath, and the rest of us help ours in anticipation.

"All those in favor of keeping Terra with the team?"

Ω¥Ω

"ROBIN!"

I rubbed his temples, usually, I could be alone in the evidence room, but today even my little sanctuary was destroyed.

I looked up to see the resident sorceress before me, her scowl putting even my own mentor's to shame.

"Yes Raven," I said lazily, "I was expecting you a little later."

She didn't seem amused at all but instead crossed her arms. "Then I'll get to the point, why exactly are we allowing a known traitor to live with us?"

I just leaned back in my chair, my hands randomly playing with one of my Birdarangs.

"I think she's repented, she seems to have remorse, couldn't you feel it? You're an empath after all."

She just groaned "That's not my point, maybe she's renounced Slade, but she's susceptible to manipulation, what if she has a liking to the next criminal mastermind?"

I looked down at the device in my hand, examining the level of craftsmanship and searching for any flaws.

"I want to tell you a story, one of a young man."

Raven rolled her eyes and took a meditation stance floating in front of me. Inwardly I smirked, I knew this would get to her.

"He was a troubled youth, bad kid, hung out in the worst of neighborhoods, did a lot of bad things, theft, mugging, a kid with no future.

One day he decided a car he sees in this alley has some nice tires, and the kid in need of all the cash he can get circumvents the entire security system of this car, state of the art.

He gets all of the tires off and just as he finishes the last the owner comes back, and it's not someone you want to meet when you're in the middle of a crime."

"I still don't see what this has to do with Terra."

Ignoring her I continued "The man sees the potential of this kid, and takes him in, shows him his ways and molds him to be the best. Why would he do that? A know criminal, why would he help them?"

"I don't know Robin why?" Raven said mockingly

I smirked "Because he could see that this kid had potential, he could see that the kid, should he continue down that path, would be dangerous, so he showed him his way.

That's what we need to do with Terra, she's young, green, and susceptible to manipulation, we need to show her that we can help her.

Don't worry about Terra, I'll be watching her, you have enough to worry about."

With that I got up and started for the door, suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist.

"The boy, who was he?"

I turned around, a sculpted serious expression on my face.

"My brother."

 **Next Chapter Up!**

 **What do you think? To those of you who don't exactly like Terra, just know things aren't all hunky-dory at the Tower.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Azarath Cat**

 **The Dimensional Reader**

 **You guys are BEASTS.**

 **So you guys let me know how this was, as you can see the 5-6 days is nice, lets me rest a little. Any comments or suggestion are appreciated.**

 **Until next time.**


	14. Chapter 14: Escalation

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 14: Escalation

 _Nightwing and I walked through the metal labyrinth of the underground base. The lights flickered on and off as if the power source was constantly in flux._

 _Nightwing was on point while I was constantly checking our rear. As we continued on we eventually stumbled upon a set of double doors with a small terminal on the side._

 _Nightwing pulled out a cable from his wrist and inserted it into the machine. A holographic terminal appeared above his wrist and he began to type furiously into it._

 _I scanned the hallway behind us for any threats before looking over his shoulder._

" _Any luck?" I whispered._

 _He scowled after a few more inputs and finally shut down his hacking device._

" _No, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."_

 _Pulling what looked like a spray gun from his utility belt he proceeded to coat the lining of the door in a black gel. Pulling out a small box with a button on top he looked at me._

 _I nodded and transformed into a rhino, looking away he pressed down on the detonator._

 _The explosion sent the door flying into the room and I used it as a shield to block any return fire I might take._

 _However, after a few moments, I heard a shout from Nightwing and stopped. Transforming back into a human the door proceeded to fall with a deafening crash onto the metal floor._

 _Looking back, I didn't examine the room at all, I looked for Nightwing, who was just frozen there staring at something behind me._

" _Nightwing what…" I said as I turned around. The sight that greeted me was nothing short of terrifying._

 _Wally West, better known as Kid Flash was running on a giant circular treadmill. At the bottom, there was a screen that had a clock which was frozen at 4:37._

" _KF!" Nightwing shouted, seemingly released from his trance. Wally looked down to us, his face was pale, and a few gray hairs were seen on his head. Even his cheeks seemed to be sunken._

" _Guys! You made it, I knew you'd find me, now get me off this thing!" he shouted. I looked back to Nightwing who was walking towards the screen._

" _What is this?" He asked. I wanted to shout that it was pretty obvious what it was, but I kept my mouth shut knowing it would do no good._

" _That clock is how long till the bomb goes off if I stop running." Wally croaked, he must have been parched, his throat sounded raw._

" _Bomb! Did they say what kind?" Nightwing asked. KF shook his head, while Nightwing pulled out some tools and began taking apart some panels._

 _It took a few minutes and in that time I looked around the room, a few supply crates littered the far corners, but other than that it was barren._

" _Holy Shit!"_

 _I turned into a tiger instantly, but when all it was Nightwing staring at a component I couldn't see, I reverted._

" _What is it?" I enquired, looking over his shoulder I could see what it was. A long fat cylinder with a nuclear symbol on it._

" _This is a B53, this was the highest yield nuke America ever fielded, 9 megatons, we're in some deep shit," Nightwing whispered. If Wally heard he might panic, after all, we weren't exactly in a lightly populated area._

" _Can you disarm it?" I asked, that was the real question, one Dick never got to answer as something came crashing through the ceiling._

 _Both of us turned to face the threat, but as the humanoid stood up we reconsidered our chances._

 _Soon another landed then another. Shortly we were surrounded by over ten different towing figures._

" _Beast Boy, do you think you could give us a teleport?" Robin gritted his teeth. I frowned_

" _You know I'm not good at those," I said as I put up a shield to deflect incoming energy beams._

" _Do it! Wally, we_ will _come back for you, I promise!" Dick shouted._

 _Wall looked down and gave us a face that Dick never forgot, it was one of someone who had hope ripped from their grasp. Someone who had come so close, but lost it all._

 _We teleported away, and within a day Dick had everything he needed to disarm the bomb, but it was too little too late._

 _When the news got to us both of us were in shock. This had happened on our watch, this was our responsibility, but Central City was gone and it was on our heads._

 _Sometimes I would hear yelling from where I slept in Wayne Manor, I knew it was Dick, it's seemed as if even the nightmare that was our life followed us to our dreams._

 _Ω¥¥Ω_

I shot up in bed, sweat dripping down my face, another nightmare. Throwing the sheets off I went into the bathroom to splash water on my face.

Was I doomed to see my old life every night? Why couldn't I just let it go, it didn't exist anymore, I was going to prevent it from happening again.

 _But you let it happen the first time._

Suddenly I was torn from my thoughts when loud banging on my door reverberated through my room.

"Grass Stain get your butt up if you want to miss breakfast that's on you."

Getting dressed I made my way through the halls and to the common room The odor of meats was collecting just outside.

Cyborg as always had a run at getting me to eat meat. Today it was sausage and eggs, no matter how much I wanted to, I forced myself to eat the unappetizing food.

Taking a bite of the cold cereal I wondered just how I survived back then. This stuff tasted like cardboard.

Everyone was now gathered in the common room.

Robin and Cyborg were having a friendly debate

Starfire and Raven talked, but it was mainly Starfire was talking.

And Terra seemed to just be taking it all in.

I sat there quietly. Today was the day that Cyborg was supposed to go undercover. It had only been a week since our meeting and Terra's true introduction into the team.

Raven was still fuming.

I had not been forced to clean dishes as Starfire had previously suggested. After a quick talk with Robin as to why, that wasn't a sufficient punishment Instead was going to have to train an extra few hours with Robin.

My punishment with Robin was about to begin tomorrow, he let me slide for a week, but I knew he would whoop my ass into shape by the time we were done. That had been set to 3 weeks.

"Alright guys, it's time."

Jolted from my thoughts I saw everyone gathered around Cyborg who was preparing to use holo-rings to disguise himself as Stone. I used to tease him about that, how his villain name was actually his last name, but that was a long time ago.

I got up and walked over to the group.

"Cy, don't do anything funny over there, or I will personally…" I was quickly cut off by a crushing hug.

"Grass Stain, shut up."

After a few more goodbyes he was gone. Robin went off to brood somewhere probably and the girls, mainly Star and Terra, went out to shop. Raven refused to go while Terra was there, but Starfire mentioned something about a bookstore so Raven decided it would be worth her time.

I, on the other hand, was currently in her room pilfering a few books. I felt the slightest contraction of skin on my body as it tried to conserve heat. Raven's room was always slightly chilly, I couldn't understand why, even….

I flipped over a book and it shook me from my thoughts. The white leather, the swirls on the edges.

Malchior.

I could keep him from ever escaping the book, and possibly learning a thing or two from him. Wiping it I dusted off a fair amount of assimilated particles on it. And walked back out of the room.

Putting down the book for later I began to gather up all the things I would need for my plan today.

A part of me felt slightly guilty when I took something from my teammates, but it was swiftly crushed from the thoughts of what would happen if I didn't.

I wanted more than anything to have stood up this morning and tell them everything, but what good would that do? I would either be passed off as a joke or perhaps labeled as insane.

I reminded myself that this was the only way as I entered my own room.

Pushing everything aside I created a wide enough area to make a perfect circle. The powders I had purchased were just enough to complete it but the smell would linger for days.

As I pushed the desired object into the center I sat down at the edge. Taking off my ring I set in front of me and picked up one of the many books accumulating around my room.

Turning to the desired page I began to read aloud the foreign text on the page.

The effects were immediate the ring in front of me began to glow, while the object in the middle of the ring began to slowly levitate.

As I completed the text I looked up and smirked, this was going to be good.

 **It's here, don't worry, another flashback for you guys trying to piece together the past.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader**

 **AND**

 **Azarath Cat**

 **You guys are great…. and my only feedback. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it.**

 **I know this chapter was a little short, I'm trying to keep them above 2k in future chapters. I also have to get this off my chest I…. disliked the third season to put it lightly. It had some gems but the overarching story was weak, so yea Brother Blood is gonna wreck shit. Or at least I hope, that depends.**

 **Anyways, until next time.**


	15. Chapter 15: Suspicions, New Digs, and BB

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 15: Suspicions, New Digs, and Brother Blood

I watched as I made Beast Boy run through the exercise again. I was forcing him to push himself out of this animal form and instead fight in human form. At first, he complained, but after the first few days, a silence came over him.

I sparred with him, taught him, and pushed him further than I've thought he's been, but something was off.

Beast Boy dodged as three separate rocks few at him.

My mentor had always been tough on me in training, it rubbed off and while I wasn't as tough on the titans I still pushed them. However, Beast Boy had become an anomaly.

At first, he was the weakest link, at t least in human form. Physically he was the weakest, even Raven without her powers possessed a certain degree in fighting skills, Beast Boy had nothing.

Being completely reliant on his powers and 'lack of motivation' to improve had set him on the lowest ranking of our team.

Dodging some lasers, Beast Boy landed on all fours and sprinted forward.

That was then, though.

The last few weeks didn't add up. He still goofed off and seemed lazy, but I could see something that no-one else could.

It wasn't…. natural.

And even in his training, he seemed to have more muscle mass. Now that could just be him maturing and filling out, but I had my suspicions. I could never find any physical evidence, but I suspected that he was actually exercising when no one was around.

What was really alarming was what I saw when I was training him one on one. At first, he seemed clumsy, untrained, but it appeared to be forced. As I taught him things he progressed much faster than I thought.

At first, he would perform OK, but he would excel at a pace that I thought impossible.

I watched as he finally reached the finish line. He promptly fell to my feet and laid spread eagle on the ground, panting.

However, I have been wrong before.

"I think *breath* that was *breath* pretty good, don't you?" He asked in a labored tone.

I crossed my arms but nodded. "Looks like your punishment is over, I hope you learned your lesson."

With that I began to walk away, perhaps the team was right, I am way too paranoid.

Ω¥¥Ω

I sat there for a few moments in the blazing sun. When Robin was finally gone I sat up and stopped my fake, labored breathing.

Two weeks of torture was not so bad. We just did simple moves and hand-to-hand combat; it wasn't that bad. Considering I knew it all, but it was nice to perfect the moving in my younger body.

I quickly hopped up and transformed into a hawk. I had left my window open to allow quick access to the room. Flapping my wings, I took off up the tower.

A quick flashing moves to an invisible audience and a sweet aileron roll into the room and I was off to the shower.

Just rinsing off I quickly put on a new uniform. I knew that with my luck I would destroy the copy so I had put together a whole rack of them. Robin wasn't too happy at how expensive they were.

Sitting off to the side of the room was a full body mirror. The whole thing was very simplistic, a large square mirror that was resting on two supports. I had found it in the basement of the tower, all sorts of things had materialized there over the years, but this was perfect.

I closed my eyes and exhaled before whispering " _Petu_."

I opened my eyes to the mirror and reached out for the mirror with my right hand. Once my finger touched the glass I was sucked in.

My senses when haywire as I felt my body being transported between dimensions. It felt like everything around me was trying to reach out and snatch me. As if the universe itself was trying to remove a being from where it was never ment to be.

All this seemed to only last for second as I soon stepped out into a dark platform. The floor itself was completely white, with little bits and other mechanical devices thrown throughout the floor.

As for everything else, if one looked up all they would see would be like the night sky, with thousands upon thousands of little tiny dots. Each dot was another universe, some so much like our own that it would take thousands of years to find the difference, some so different they defied comprehension.

I looked around, the things I had been able to smuggle in here were few and far between, but here I could keep and do things without the team knowing.

The books I took from Raven sat on a shelf off to my left along with every magical artifact, powder, or rarity I had been able to acquire, and to the right was where I kept the xenotium. It was really a wonder that no-one had stumbled upon it, even though I had taken a few cases. Good thing people thought my room was a landfill.

A workbench with a chair sat off the side, walking over and sitting down I looked at what I was almost finished completing. A set of holo-rings, one Cyborg didn't know about and able to load multiple disguises.

It was disguised as an ordinary gold band and…

I felt the T-Communicator go off in my pocket. For some reason, it worked here, at least if you were close enough to the portal. Quickly getting up from the desk I jumped into the portal.

It looked like we were going in for Cyborg.

Ω¥¥Ω

It was easy to get in, Terra was able to tunnel into the underground base, but sneaking around, especially with Cyborg's robotic copy was… difficult.

The hexagon hallways made travel difficult with all of us, but soon enough we all found ourselves in a giant arena. Brother Blood stood on a large platform floating above his best 'class'.

"Welcome Titans!" he exclaimed while spreading his arms. "I would like to see how you do against me best class."

"Attack pattern Alpha!" Stone shouted, and the four H.I.V.E. students were on us in moments.

Four versus five were good odds for us, but Terra was just so inexperienced. The Hive students were masters at strategy and Terra had never fought them before, so she and Raven (probably to Raven's annoyance, both went after Jinx.

Starfire took it upon herself to chase Gizmo around the entire arena and Robin fought with Stone.

I was fortunate enough to get Mammoth. Morphing into an ape I met him head-on. He had the first swing, but I dodged easily causing him to stumble forward. I took this opportunity to take both my fists and slam them downwards into his back, crushing him into the floor.

"Terra I could use a bolder here," I shouted before I knew it a piece of the ceiling came crashing down on top of Mammoth.

Backing up I felt a few hundred volts of electricity flow through my body. After a few convolutions, I fell to the ground in pain and could smell a little bit of charred Kevlar. Starfire knelt down next to me to see if I was seriously hurt.

"Try to be aware next time snot munchers!" I heard Gizmo yell as he flew above me with a jet pack. I looked at Starfire "Trade?". Just then Mammoth broke out of his stone prison and Starfire nodded.

"We shall do the trading." With that, she launched herself at Mammoth.

I morphed into a pterodactyl and rushed Gizmo who still had his sights on Starfire. Clamping down on his jetpack one of the boosters failed and sent him spiraling out of control.

No sooner than I had done that a pink sliver of energy crashed into me. I morphed back into human form and landed perfectly, Robin, if he had seen it, would probably applaud.

Terra flew over to me on a rock and landed. "These guys are good!" she exclaimed before Raven was rag dolled into her. I kneeled down to check on both of them and they were both out cold.

That was when Cyborg's robot actually activated its attack mode and let Robin disengage from the real Cyborg. Running over to me I let him know what the situation was. "There both out, I don't know if we can win this without them," I said.

Starfire landed next to us after Mammoth had been crushed into the arena's far wall. "We must get them to safety." He said, but before she could do anything a familiar orange force field enveloped us.

"C'mon crud munchers you have to be quicker than that!" Gizmo shouted. He was stumbling next to Brother blood who had landed on the arena floor. Jinx was clutching her arm as she joined them, by the looks of it, she had a rough time handling both Raven and Terra.

Suddenly the two Cyborgs broke through another wall, this time, higher up. Stone was pummeling the robot all the way to the arena floor where he got on top and rammed it at full speed.

A giant shockwave came from the epicenter of the impact tossing dust up to make a curtain of debris. It took a few moments before the dust settled and there stood Cyborg, the original Cyborg.

"Cyborg, oh crud!" Gizmo shouted, he readied himself to attack, but was stopped by Brother Blood.

"No, he is one of us." He stated while he revealed something from inside his cloak.

"Use the Ion Amplifier!"

Cyborg walked over obediently and attached the device to his arm. Walking past the mangled remains of the robot he had just defeated to a position where he knew he would not miss.

Both of the unconscious females began to stir as Cyborg raised his arm to fire.

"Syke!"

With that, he turned and fired full power back at Brother Blood. He was so in shock that he almost did not raise his shield in time. The shot then deflected into the ceiling causing a massive explosion and the entire facility beginning to crumble.

All the team was in shock; Mammoth had rejoined them as the falling debris had field him. Jinx just look at Cyborg with total betrayal in her eyes

"You could have been one of us." She said.

Cyborg turned as she hopped on Brother Blood's awaiting platform.

"I could have been a lot of things."

Looking back at his true friends who were all now conscious he smiled. Robin in a rare fashion returned one.

"Raven take us home."

Ω¥¥Ω

I watched as Cyborg made dinner. Everyone had washed up and were prepared for a fine feast of Cyborgs food, which had been dearly missed in his absence.

He had explained what had happened, how his cybernetic brain had fought against Blood's mind control. However, he needed to secure the Ion Amplifier before it could be used against any of us or the city itself.

"From the amount of take-out, I would guess you guys barely survived without me."

I had been a decent cook, Alfred had taught me in downtime, but I couldn't cook for the team. It was true that the team really did lack in the kitchen department.

"Yea about you leaving the team, you do need to be re-initiated." Robin said with a smirk while raising a pink leotard, rubber chicken, and a bow.

Cyborg's smirked as he looks down at the food he was preparing.

"You know, Terra never had to do the initiation process."

I don't recall Cyborg ever cause someone so much pain.

 **So, Fridays seem like good days to update.**

 **I bet there is going to be a shit ton of typos in this today, it's 1am and I should have had this done two hours ago, but whatever.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Azarath Cat- 6** **th** **Review Streak!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- 7** **th** **Review Streak!**

 **And a newcomer mochafraptor!**

 **So this season is going to be weird for me like I said in the last chapter, but I decided I want to put more emphasis towards individual happenings instead of the main story arch (because it sucks), but Brother Blood is still going to be badass. Thoughts?**

 **Until Next Time**

 **God I am so tired.**


	16. Chapter 16: Pizza and Memories

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 16: Pizza and Memories

"Yo, grass stain!" Someone yelled.

Currently, I was on my third hour of gaming and I hadn't even noticed that someone was trying to get my attention

For three hours a day, I was a couch potato, I found that this was the least amount of time I had to do 'normal' things before I disappeared to do more productive activities. I started to really feel that Robin was suspicious of something. Sometimes I would get a suspicious look from him when I wasn't goofing off or cracking some joke.

It was easy to do, I never got upset playing the games like I used to. Having mastered them years ago the forgotten knowledge resurfaced and it almost made me feel normal.

'Beast Boy!' someone shouted in my ear.

I instantly reached over the person's neck and pulled them into a headlock. Making them loose balance and falling forward over the couch.

"Dude!"

I suddenly knew what I had done. Time for damage control.

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "Sorry dude, I was kinda in the zone there."

Cy narrowed his eyes, the human side giving off a few different emotions.

"Since when could you put someone in a chock hold?" he asked.

I just smiled and shrugged. "Stupid luck?"

Brushing himself off and standing up Cyborg tried to save what dignity he had. "Yeaaa, right, look I'm going out for pizza, you want to join?"

I thought for a minute, of course, if I didn't go he would think something was going on, but if I did I really didn't want to have stares and unwanted attention. Holo-rings were a good idea, but an excuse for that was up in the air.

"I'll go, but I want to be low profile, got any more holo-rings?" I asked hopefully.

Of course, I knew Cyborg had made plenty, he needed replacements if his failed in the middle of his infiltration mission.

Cyborg raised an eye, "Since when did you not like getting mobbed?" he asked.

I shrugged "I don't know, just wanted to try something new, you know have a little peace and quiet."

Crossing his arms Cyborg nodded, "You know that sounds like it would be nice, give me a few minutes, and I'll set some to your size."

¥ΩΩ¥

"I installed the same technology from the rings into the car when I got back, thought it might be useful," Cyborg said as we drove through the City.

I looked out the window at the city I grew up in, as I watched people walk along the road going about their daily lives I caught the slight reflection of myself in the mirror. I looked so young, so untouched by the years, so innocent.

The body was innocent, not the mind.

I remembered the one of the last time I saw Jump, a mission with Nightwing and Aqualad.

" _C'mon this is only going to take a few more minutes."_

 _I crawled with Nightwing up the ventilation shaft, it was dark but we both had night vision. Rubber pads were on both of our knees and hands to reduce any noise that might alert guardsmen._

 _We crawled for about an hour to the one vent opening that could get us closest to my designated room. All power had been cut from the base so we had to break in. We reached double sliding doors which blocked our advance._

 _There was only enough room for my head to poke out so I checked down the dark hallway to see if there was anything there, all I got were falling ceiling panels, broken walls, and hanging wires._

" _You ready?" I asked Nightwing._

 _The protégé of Batman nodded, with that we both grabbed one side of the sliding doors and pulled._

 _We made the smallest opening possible, but not without creating a very loud and sharp metal on metal sound._

 _Not knowing if we had alerted anyone we rushed in Nightwing looked and me and nodded, we both knew what we had to do. He ran off through the doorway while I began my search._

 _The main objective was to find blueprints more dangerous designs and also gather all research and information off the Titans database related to the original Amazo robot._

 _Quickly slipping a cable into a port in a personal terminal I looked around the room for any more important things I could gather._

 _25%_

 _I searched all of his cabinets and belonging, but I couldn't find anything important. Moving onto something more personal, their armor stand, or shrine as I had called it._

 _It had gathered dust in the owner's absence and as I inspected it. I noticed the craftsmanship of the sword. Picking it up to examine it I was amazed at the ability of crude craftsman._

 _50%_

 _Suddenly a low-pressure hiss came from the stand. Looking down a small door opened and I saw a small flash drive._

 _75%_

 _I picked it up, pocketed it, and walked back over to the terminal._

 _100%_

 _I disconnected the black box and ran out of the room, back down the airshaft I finally reached the area where we had entered the base. An underwater hanger for a submersible craft._

 _Aqualad had been tasked with the job of protecting our exit or warning us if it wasn't safe. Since I never got the call I walked down to the water and turned into a swordfish._

 _I looked around wildly searching for my comrade, but when I finally looked down to the floor I spotted him._

 _Aqualad was there, but at the bottom of the hanger, his limp body resting and impaled on a piece of rebar._

 _I quickly swam to the top and taped on a communicator on the underside of my wrist._

" _Nightwing… Nightwing are you there!?" I yelled frantically into the communicator._

 _A static-laden response came through with only a few words actually distinguishable. One of them stood out_

" _Roof"_

 _I quickly swam out to the sea, turned into a large pterodactyl, and flew at top speed to the top of the building._

 _Reaching the top, I saw Nightwing fighting two different bots. For not having any powers he seemed to be doing fine, but I knew he truly couldn't last long. Sweeping down I snatched him as he flipped over one of the towering mechanical beasts._

 _Once he realized what was happening he calmed down. For the moment he said nothing as we flew away from the ruined Titans Tower and instead over the charred remains of Jump City._

" _Beast Boy"_

BEAST BOY!"

I jumped, ready for a fight, but only found a young black man looking at me.

"We're here." He said casually.

"Oh, must have zoned out."

We both got out of the car and headed straight for the beloved pizzeria.

Walking in we got a half meat lover and half cheese pizza and sat down on the balcony.

Cyborg quickly hogged down all of his pizza while I ate conservatively, besides I wasn't that hungry.

I looked down at the city goers and just watched as they all went about their business, as normal people. Not knowing what horrors might await them.

"Dude seriously, you ok?" Cy asked.

I sighed, "Isn't this nice?" I asked

"If you mean this pizza then I agree with you."

I leaned back in my seat, "No I mean _this,_ being normal, no fans, no autographs, no villains trying to ruin our day."

Cyborg shrugged "I guess it's nice to be this way awhile, really you can only appreciate it if you're like us."

I nodded while taking another bite of my pizza, "It must be nice not worrying about when the next fight is going to be."

"Keeps things interesting for us, hmm"

"Yea, interesting."

"Besides ever wonder what It would be like without us?" Cyborg asked.

I just looked down at the pizza.

"Every day."

 **Sorry for not getting this out Friday night. I came down with a cold and decided I would get this out today and actually get a good night's sleep. Having cold and staying up till 12 isn't exactly pleasant.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **mochafraptor- 2** **nd** **review streak!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- 8** **th** **review streak! Wow!**

 **Sorry it's a short chapter, blame the cold, next one will also be kinda short, maybe I'm not done with it.**

 **Until next time.**


	17. Chapter 17: Dark Reflections

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 17: Dark Reflections

The team was exhausted. A few hours of chasing Robin's other arch nemesis and everyone was beat. Once we arrived back at the tower from the fight in Dr. Chang's observatory everyone dispersed to do their own things.

Robin when to brood in his room.

Starfire went to probably sleep.

Cyborg went to diagnose and tweak his systems.

Raven went to meditate.

Terra went to train.

I was glad that Dr. Chang had the intelligence to keep his mouth shut over my whole escapade to his laboratory, however, on the other hand, I was frustrated. The entire appearance of Red X and the following events were near identical to last time. Terra, even though she was becoming an effective fighter, didn't have much impact at all. In fact, things were still playing out as they should have.

That was why I was staring into my mediation mirror. It was much easier than trying to get into your mindscape unassisted and I had just created one hours before Red X stole the suit.

In all, the process was complex, a dozen different enchantments and ingredients, but no one said it was going to be easy. Staring into it I felt my mind being sucking into itself.

I closed my eyes as the feeling of vertigo overtook me, it was much more graceful than the trip I had with Cyborg into Raven's mind. Perhaps it was because I actually owned this one.

Opening my eyes, I was in the one place I wanted to be. An infinitely large room spread out in front of me, seated in front of me was a small desk. On it were strewn papers and all sorts of documents. Seated behind it was a smaller version of myself, he wore glasses and was engrossed in something on the desk.

"I..." I began but was silenced by a single finger.

He read for a few more seconds before finally scribbling something down with a fountain pen. When he was done he finally looked up.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would show up, I don't know why you even bother to come here, you already know the answers."

I rolled my eyes, typical Knowledge.

"Can we cut to the chase, tell me why things aren't really changing."

With that Knowledge leaned back in his chair, causing it to groan in protest.

"Well, to really dissect this we need to look at different theories." He said, in a flash, he got up and ran down one of the isles. Coming back only seconds later with some folders.

"What is this?" I said gesturing to what he was holding. Silently he threw them across the table.

"Exhibit A," he said as he pushed it forward, "the Butterfly Effect."

Opening it he adjusted his glasses. "So, the slightest change can have the largest and farthest reaching effects in the long and short term,"

Looking up he tossed the folder behind him onto the floor.

"Well, we know that's bullshit."

I crossed my arms this was going to take a while. Picking up the second folder he began to examine its contents.

"Snowball effect, your changes now will eventually cause a more significant outcome later and basically upset the time stream down the line, possible but I think the next one is more likely.

I raised an eye and watched as he picked up the final folder.

"River theory, this states that time is an auto-correcting system, what you're doing would be like throwing a pebble, or with Terra a rock into a river, and while it causes a disturbance, in the long run, it makes no difference the outcome is the same."

I slammed my hands down on the desk "I refuse to believe that!"

Knowledge just sat there calmly, "Faith's department is down the hall if you need it, if you want my advice, you should enjoy your life now, don't wait, you have your family, try to relish them now."

I shook my head, "What if a boulder was thrown, how large would it have to be, the event I mean?"

Knowledge tilted his head and brought his hand to his chin, being deep in thought. He shrugged.

"It wouldn't have to be cataclysmic, but more along the lines of, destroying the possibilities of enough variables, but something like that is highly unlikely."

I frowned, this really wasn't the talk I wanted to have. Walking away to leave Knowledge suddenly shouted after me.

"Hey, the Beast wants to see you, something about him stretching his legs soon?" he said.

I rolled my eyes, typical Beast couldn't wait to get out, I would talk to him later, right now I had bigger fish to fry.

Ω¥¥Ω

Red X was the definition of a shadowy reflection, not just of Robin, but of the whole team. Most obviously were the fact that he was out for himself. The Titans instead were about helping other people.

He was arrogant, even if it was well cemented. He was also one man, skilled by himself and able to disarm the Titans on more than one occasion. The titans, on the other hand, fought as a team.

He was skilled, but that was due to his teacher. He was a very dangerous person, more so than now than in the future. Unrefined, daring, and no moral compass could have turned him into something far worst.

Being part of the Batclan I was able to work with him on more than one occasion, even if he was under a new name. He was another man then, one who actually knew who he was and who had a place.

That was why I was in the underground tunnels of Jump. I remembered him telling me about his original hideout here, it was an abandoned subway station on the outskirts of town.

I was currently in the form of a Raccoon making my way through debris and in total darkness. It took forever to find, but once I did I knew exactly why he chose the place.

It was a double station with two trains going in opposite directions. There were two abandoned trains on opposite ends of the platform and the center had a row of pillars running through it. The main prize was the cables running along the ceiling.

Main power lines, communications, you name it, it was there. I could see him rummaging around and trying to really set up something akin base.

Shifting back into a human I walked up until I was about 20 feet behind him.

"Nice place you got here," I said casually while I leaned against a pillar.

In the blink of an eye he was turned around with multiple Xs ready to throw, but as soon as he saw me he relaxed, or at least as much as someone like him could.

Then came the laughter.

"Ha! They… they sent you to find me?" He was clutching his side he was laughing so much.

I waited for him to stop, I couldn't get anything done if he didn't take this seriously, but I knew just the thing.

Finally recovering he looked at me, those white eyes trying to pierce my soul.

"Go on kid, I'll give you a chance to run back to your team."

I stiffened a laugh.

"Actually they don't know I'm here, but I didn't come to fight, I want to help you," I said coolly.

He crossed his arms, his cocky attitude coming through the hard nature of his training.

"Oh yea, and what could you possibly offer me?"

I finally got off the pillar was began to walk towards him.

"How about your memory for starters."

He stiffened and took a fighting stance as I neared him, "How do you know about that?"

I ignored the question "How about why you feel so comfortable underground."

His stance lessened, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"How about your obsession with Robin that you can't quite figure out, that thing that you can feel, but can't put words to."

He finally dropped his guard. "You… you really know who I am?"

I nodded I was less than three feet from him.

"I can help you… Jason."

 **Hey guys, sorry for being late again, I've had a rough week that's why the chapter is short and in my opinion is dull.**

 **Shout outs!**

 **The Dimensional Reader!**

 **Azarath Cat!**

 **Until next time**


	18. Chapter 18: Ghosts made of Guilt

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 18: Ghosts made of Guilt

I took a deep breath of clean earth air. The T-Ship had landed only moments earlier and I couldn't be happier to be home. It wasn't that space travel itself was terrible, in fact, I rather enjoyed it, the endless eternity that was space was quite beautiful. No city noises, no artificial light, it was a quite that by itself could be a symphony.

That being said, sitting in an overcrowded spacecraft for hours on end was not what I called enjoyable.

I could deal with crowded cockpit, I was lucky to not have claustrophobia on my fear list, but there was one thing I hated more than anything in the world. Well, almost.

It was recycled air, especially in the T-Ship, to normal nasal cavities you can't tell the difference, but to me it was like night and day. You could smell all the filters it has gone through, hot stagnant air was nearly as bad.

One would think Cyborg would compensate for a team member who had a heightened sense of smell, even a little fan would be nice, but no I was stuck in a tiny cockpit for way too long.

On the bright side, Starfire's marriage, or would-be marriage, went smoothly, or as well as it went last time. Starfire was actually much happier now because she got to spend quality time with an extra girl, Terra, even if she was just warming up to her.

Terra, she was doing well in the team. Simply put, she just belonged, she was a good median between the two female extremes we had on the team.

As I was breathing in fresh air as if it was going out of style, the other team members began to unload and walk off to do their respected things. I was going to get something done I should have as soon as I arrived here.

Getting up and entering the hallways I made my way to the basement. Opening the door, it gave a satisfying swish, I began the walk down the overly noisy metal catwalk stairs. Reaching the bottom I began to look for the right container.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found it, one marked with a large yellow S. Pulling it out of the rack of cardboard containers. I lifted the lid to find exactly what I was looking for.

Slade's mask.

Gently grabbing it I lifted it with the utmost care, it would only take a small amount of this lined dust to make me hallucinate, I needed to get it cleaned and back here without anyone knowing.

Getting up I turned around, my eyes were focused on the…

Instantly someone plowed into me, I quickly went to the ground with the mask flying into the air.

"Woah Grass Stain, watch where *cough* you're going."

Instantly the dust particles spread into the air as the mask when flying. A large dust cloud forming around us.

Within a few moments it had dissipated, and I was struggling to keep myself from ripping Cyborg's arms off.

Taking a few breaths, I began to try to calm down.

"It's alright man if you don't mind," I said, picking up the mask and putting it away, I quickly got away before

Heading up to my room I laid down and wondered how I was going to get out of the one. Forget me getting out of it, Cyborg's was infected as well, what was going to happen?

I looked over at the clock, it read 9:10. It was starting to get dark outside. The darkness would come and so would the hallucinations. I had been affected by an assortment of different chemicals, including Scarecrow's fear toxin, but this was in a whole other league.

I was actually curious to see who came, the dust was designed to express the individual's deepest and darkest parts of their minds. Slade knew Robin, he had in-depth knowledge about him, so he was able to determine what he would see.

I was curious, I knew it wouldn't be anything good, but perhaps I could learn from it. I got up from my bed and walked the halls, I wasn't tired anyway, maybe I could go train.

Walking into the large training facility it was dark, only a few lights were on. I prepared to go through some exercises when I saw her. Terra, or should I say a much older Terra by the looks of it in her twenties, standing there with her arms crossed.

She wore a plain, tight, short sleeved shirt, and tight jeans. I raised an eyebrow, of all the people she was pretty much the last person I thought I would see.

"I really wasn't expecting to see you here," I said without a hint of emotion.

She snorted "Yea, just like you didn't expect for them to come for me, remember?"

"You could have saved me, warned me at the least, but you didn't, you forgot about me!"

I frowned, "That not true!"

I couldn't let these affect me, they were only in my head.

She said nothing and just stood there. I soon heard a dripping noise and found that it was something coming off of her arms, falling onto the ground.

Blood

Before I could say anything she left, walking into a shadow.

Looking around for her I felt a fist connect with my jaw which sent me flying.

"Hey Gar, nice you see you again!"

I looked up to see a fair skinned and black haired man standing here.

"What do you want Aqualad or is it Tempest?" I asked, it was obvious he was the older version, the muscles were well defined by his outfit, which was a black and red pattern instead of his younger blue and black.

He turned away from me, his back facing me.

"You know I had a family back home, a nice son, a loving wife, but I agreed to join you on your little heist, you couldn't just leave me alone."

I got up and wiped my lip, a bit of blood was now coming from my mouth.

"It's almost funny, "he chuckled "my king never trusted you after you came back and for some reason I did, I guess I'm just a fool." He said before walking off.

Blood from a huge gash in the back of his torso created a crimson river as he left.

Suddenly I heard the release of an arrow and jumped to dodge.

"Speedy."

The bowman appeared from behind a piece of workout equipment. He looked aged, a thick, but trimmed beard grew on his face, just like his mentor.

"It was you, it's all your fault!" he said while releasing three more arrows in rapid secession.

I dodged them all, the arrows disappearing and reappearing as the went through the pillars of light. Without needing to even recall the day, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You know I couldn't stop it, you know the truth!" I yelled as I dodged the new projectiles.

"Yea, why is Author dead then?" he said before sinking into the shadows.

I closed my eyes and balled my fisted, that wasn't my fault, everyone had forgiven me for what happened, it wasn't my fault.

Suddenly a bow, broken at its center point came sliding out of the shadows. It skidded against the ground so that it stopped in front of me.

"Keep telling yourself that."

I looked up to see Robin. For a moment I thought it might be the real one, but all hopes were shattered as he charged towards me.

He jumped and brought down his foot towards my face, but I dodged just in time. Crouching when he landed, he twisted while bringing a fist to my face.

For a moment I was disoriented, but coming back to my senses I looked to find my adversary but found a fully grown Nightwing.

"You know this is pointless, I trained you, I know everything about you." He said as he brought another punch towards me. I blocked and countered with a drop to the floor and a sweep of my leg in the vain attempt to knock him down.

It didn't work and he took the chance to pounce down on me. Once on top of me he repeatedly punched me in the face. Pure animal rage filling his blows.

"You were my teammate, my brother, and you couldn't even save me!" He said, I couldn't quite be sure, but his hands felt as if they were heating up.

"Where were you when I was taken!"

Another blow hit my face, this time, the heat burnt my skin.

"And when you found me, what did you do?"

Another blow, this time, the fist was beginning to steam.

"YOU JUST STOOD THERE!" He shouted, before the fist finally burst into flame, the heat seared my skin but just being there. The body on top of me was entirely engulfed in flame, and being on top of me, the searing pain engulfed wherever he touched me.

"Look at me." He said as he stopped hitting me. I looked at him, instead of a human face or body, a skeleton ablaze was over me.

"Look at what they did to me."

I closed my eyes remembering, opening them the man that had just been over me was gone.

The pain still was still prevalent, but not as agonizing as it was before.

Getting up I looked around the room for any more phantoms. Deciding I had had enough of this and I began to hobble over the light switch that would ignite all the lights.

Walking without any stability I stumbled and eventually fell to my knees halfway there. Clutching my abdomen, where the last hallucination had sat I hissed at the pain.

"Oh my poor baby, look what they've done to you."

I looked up to see a beautiful woman with long brown hair with blue eyes, standing next to her was a man with short blond hair with brown eyes.

"I don't know, he's just weak, I mean he couldn't even save us, could you son?" the man asked.

"Mom, Dad?" I said in a hushed voice. How many years had it been, what would I have given to see them again?

"You might be right, he can turn into any animal that he sees, but he couldn't turn into anything big enough to carry us, pathetic." My mother spat.

I closed my eyes, the memory spilling back into my head, a single tear rolled down my cheek.

"You're not real," I said in defiance.

They both laughed. "We're as real as you make us son."

That was all I needed. I stood up with my eyes still closed.

"You're not real," I said, more to myself than to them and I took a step forward.

"Why even bother anymore Garfield?" my mother asked, "You know you can't change anything; you know in the end it's all in vain."

I looked up, opening my eyes and taking another step forward.

"Because, I choose to believe that I can make a difference."

I took another step.

"Whether that leads me down a dark path…"

I took another step.

"Or the path of a hero..."

Another step, I was nearly to the switch.

"I'll know I did everything I could."

The both shook their heads, in disapproval. "Such a waste, you can't change the future."

Reaching the switch I put my hand on it, resting myself against the wall.

"Watch me."

With that, I flipped the switch.

The entire room filled with light and the figures were gone. Taking a deep breath, I put my back to the wall and slowly slid down. Tears threatened to fall, but before could consider that The door hissed open and someone walked in.

I quickly composed myself and looked up to find Cyborg.

"You ok man?" he asked, completely unaware of the events that had conspired just moments before.

"Who did you see?" he asked. For a moment I looked at him with a confused face, trying to throw him off. For a moment he just looked at me before he began to explain.

"The mask, Slade's mask had a chemical-laced on it when I went into my room my cybernetic blocked its effects on my human half. I ran an analysis and created an antidote, but I just remembered that you were there too, so I came looking for you."

I just nodded, too tired to speak. Cyborg produced a syringe and injected me with the cure.

"You know, for a moment I thought I saw my mother." He said, "Must have been before the chemical was detected by the other half of my brain."

I nodded weakly before exhaustion finally consumed me and I fell into a peaceful sleep. The first in a long time.

 **Nice full-length chapter today, I really liked this chapter, it gave me the ability to expand the past for you guys without actually giving away much. Also gave me the ability to give Beast Boy developing survivor's guilt.  
**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader!**

 **Azarath Cat!**

 **Finally getting back into rhythm again, defiantly next chapter will be up on time next week.**

 **Until next time.**


	19. Chapter 19: Dark Temptations

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 19: Dark Temptations

When I first regained consciousness, I heard sounds of people talking in hushed voices. Out of years of discipline I kept completely still trying to listen in on their conversation.

"What do you mean, saw something, he's beaten to hell!"

That was defiantly Robin, and he was pissed that something had happened to his teammate while he was under the same roof.

"I told you man, the way it was designed was whatever he saw, whatever it did to him, the body reacted like it was real."

That was Cyborg, undoubtedly, I wondered what time it was, it should be morning, but he could have fetched Robin in the middle of the night, wasn't like he was used to that.

"Friend Cyborg, how did this happen, was he not sought after, as soon as you found out that you were seeing the hallucinations?"

That was Starfire, and I was done playing dead.

"It's not his fault," I said, I was surprised on how rasp my voice was. I tried to open my eyes but found only one could open, the other was probably swollen shut.

Getting up was as painful as getting stabbed in the gut repeatedly. I was just about in sitting position when someone ran over to me.

"Woah, there you need to recline, you're not done the healing," Terra said.

I turned with my one good eye in defiance and promptly pushed my back against the wall. I was not going to simply roll over and lay down after I had just gone through all that pain to get where I was.

With sharp breathing, I finally began to look at the people in front of me.

"Well, you all look fantastic today," I said.

The team just looked at each over, there was sickly silence in the air.

"I'm not so sure about me, though, can Raven help me out a bit?"

With that Raven walked out from behind the group, her worry (if any) was still hidden behind the stone wall that was her face.

As he outstretched her arm to hover just above my face, a deep blue glow hovered right over my right eye.

Immediately I felt the built up liquids swelling around my eye begin to disperse and different pieces of flesh correct themselves.

It a few moments I was back and had full vision. She then quickly went about and started on my charred skin, cuts, bruises, and other injuries.

"So, you mind telling us what you saw that could do that to you." Robin tried.

I was about to open my mouth when Cyborg cut in.

"Hey man lay off the little man, the chemical compound released some of the worse things from the infected mind." Cyborg gave him his best protective older brother stair.

However, Robin was having none of it.

"I'm not trying to be hurtful Cyborg I just would like to know what caused him have burns covering forty percent of his body," Robin said crossing his arms.

Cyborg just growled, "It doesn't matter what he saw and it wasn't actually real, his body made it real and reacted as if it was there."

Raven was now working on the other half of my body, she must either be in a foul mood or just worried from the extent of the injuries judging by the look on her face.

"Guys, I'm still here." I chimed in. Immediately the two's faces went blank before they looked at each other and quickly turned away.

It was silent as Raven fished the last of the healing over my burned skin. I quickly pulled off all the small sensors dotted on my body and swung by legs over the side quickly.

"Hey," Raven scolded "I am not healing you, if you tear those I don't want to have to heal you again, you need rest."

I shrugged and got up with the rest of the team watching in silence.

"I'll rest in my room, "I said while walking past the rest of the team. "If you don't mind."

With an iconic swish the doors opened and I started down the halls to my room.

It wasn't long before I heard the signature metallic footsteps of Cyborg running behind me.

"Hey man," he said as he reached my side. I looked over at him, he seemed to be nervous like he was anticipating something.

"I really know it's none of my business, but I was wondering…:

I looked back to the hallway, we were so close to my room, so close.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what happened back there."

I was silent for a few moments, the door to my room was now so close.

"C'mon man, I promise I won't tell anyone, I just need to know," he pried, I thought he had the knowledge to know when to let something lie.

I sighed and looked at him as my door opened,

"I saw demons."

With that I walked into my room and shut the door, leaving a very worried and confused Cyborg.

Releasing a breath, I didn't know I had I walked to the middle of the room, it was the afternoon, I must have been out for a while since the sun was already doing down.

 _There goes my sleep schedule_

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

I turned around with such speed that I winced from the pain I felt as I took a fighting stance. With his lower half visible and hid upper half cloaked in darkness a figure stood by my dresser, the only detail that would be seen from the waist up was a sickly smile.

"You're not really here, but Cyborg said the compound was removed!" I said.

He shook his head "I've only got a little bit; besides I'm never really gone." He said as he walked forward so I could see him.

The red skin, the black eyes, it was him, but it wasn't, he wasn't a separate person, he was in my mind.

"Like I said, I'm only here for a little while, so I thought we might have a little chat."

I narrowed my eyes, it was stupid of me to get curious of the chemical before, I wanted to know what I would see, but this was not what I envisioned.

"I don't what to hear it," I said dismissively before I began to pick up some books.

Behind my back, he smirked, "It doesn't matter if you want to, you're going to hear this."

"Just how do you think this is all going to turn out?" he said with a smile.

I turned around "I'm going to make things right." I said defiantly.

He shook his head "That's what you would have thought years ago, but now? No, we know better," he said.

As he finished his feet began to slowly disappear, Turing transparent.

"You can't keep this up forever, you can't just keep going like nothing happened."

I lowered my head "I'll make it work, I'll make all their lives easier."

He crossed his arms "But you, you can't take it, the sneaking around, the deception, you'll crack, and want out, but you won't be about to because you're attached, and you'll drive yourself mad!" he laughed and his upper body began to disappear.

"We'll see about that," I said as I looked down at a white book bound with gray trimmings. "besides, I'm not the one that's mad."

He laughed "You're still holding onto that false belief, we're one and the same, you're as much me as I am you, besides if it weren't for me…" But I cut him off before he could continue.

"I don't want to hear it, get out!"

Silence greeted me as I went about searching through my things.

Collecting everything I needed I went to my pocket dimension.

The familiar sight greeted me as I threw everything down on a table except for one book, the white one.

I frowned as I was going to have to interact with one of my least favorite entities of all time. However, he could help me while everyone else wouldn't be in a position to.

I sighed and threw open the book.

"Malachor, you have till I count to five to acknowledge me. One"

Nothing "Two"

Still nothing "Three"

Nothing and I casually grabbed a lighter from the pile of random assorted objects on the desk.

"Four," I said letting the flame burst into the open and began to move it towards the bottom of a page.

"Alright!" I heard him yell as a pair of eyes looked at a time from the pages. "Just set me down!"

I threw the book onto the floor and a flurry of pages flew upwards, the flew around for a few minute before returning to above the book and intricately weaving together to create a body,

Crossing its arms, he spoke "Alright, it was getting boring in there, what…. wait a minute, where's Raven?" he asked looking around.

I frowned "Actually you won't be teaching her, instead you're going to teach me." I said defiantly.

He laughed, "You? I've heard Raven talk about you, oh yes, the bumbling idiot, and you want me to teach you?" he continued to laugh.

I snarled and shot towards him, picking him up by the throat, he looked down with eyes widened.

"I don't have a whole lot of time to deal with you, but I'll make you this offer, teach me everything you know, or I'm going to set your book on fire.

He stared at me for a few moments. "Your garner respect, I can see it in your eyes, the stories I hear do not reflect upon you in a similar manner."

I set him down and stepped back. "However,"

My ears perked up.

"You have some sort of magical connection, if I'm correct you made this pocket dimension?" he asked and I nodded.

"You have some skill, do you have a conduit?" I nodded again and held up my hand to show my ring.

His eyes widened "Is that…." I nodded cutting him off

"How did you... You're not any old changeling are you?"

"Can we begin or are we going to play twenty questions?" I asked.

I could almost see the non-existent smile "That was a good deflect, but I want some answers one day."

I narrowed my eyes "We'll see,"

He clapped his hands together and pages soared from his book into the air, their text changing and rearranging to create a new formation.

"We'll start with what you know"

 **Hey, guys, a new chapter, new week. I've been giving some thought to updating every other week on Mondays, but I have been falling behind on writing, so we'll see what happens.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- 11 review streak *Dota 2 announcer* GODLIKE!**

 **Untill next time**


	20. Chapter 20: Shockwaves: Part I

_**Ataraxia**_ _ **P**_ _ **raeteritu**_ _ **m**_ _ **, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 20: Shockwaves Part: 1

A few days later I was exhausted, physically and mentally. Hours upon hours of being taught by Malchior was taking its toll.

I knew he was disappointed that he was not teaching and manipulating Raven. His end goal was still the same, getting out of that book in any way he could. What he didn't realize was that I would never let him out.

I couldn't destroy the book, that was certain, Malchior had protective spells on it, so hiding it away would be my best bet.

A peaceful sleep was rare for me these days and I found myself slowly becoming an insomniac. Meds weren't an option, as I was about to find out.

Red lights and alarms activated throughout the tower. Instantly I was on my feet ready to take down a non-existent opponent. For a few moments, I stood there, before I rushed to put on my gear and ran to the hall.

As I ran to the common room I was greeted with Cyborg coming in the opposite direction.

"C'mon man this way." He said as he grabbed onto me and pulled me in the opposite direction.

Once we reached the entrance all the other titans were there, and slowly the doors were being pried open.

All the other titans readied themselves, but I had no need, I knew who it was.

As the figure finally came into the light the blue and black outfit could be distinguished and all the titans stood down.

"Aqualad?" Robin said with a curious tone in his voice.

"Your trash is in my ocean." He said with a great deal of displeasure, to put to mildly, in his voice.

Ω¥¥Ω

"He read my blueprints?! MY PRIVATE BLUEPRINTS? Cyborg yelled, his outrage prevalent throughout the common room. I sat off to the side bored out of my mind, the base was the same, the plan was going to be the same and I was not about to make this harder than it needed to be.

"Sonic cannon…"

"T-Ship…"

"Command Room…"

I rolled my eyes at how this plan was going to nearly fall apart. We did have Terra, though, but Robin wouldn't let her out of his sights.

"Terra, this is your first major mission, you're going to be with Raven and me."

"Starfire, you need to go with Aqualad and Beast Boy to bring down that shield."

"Cyborg, you're off on your own to shut down that machine."

We all looked around and nodded to each other. Robin crossed his arms and nodded in assurance.

"You have 5 minutes, Aqualad, Beast Boy, you swim, Terra will take your place."

I nodded before exiting the room like everyone else, I didn't need anything, I couldn't use any gadgets or magic so why to bother. As I walked I slid my ring from under my glove, twisting it on my finger.

"Beast Boy..."

I felt a hand lay on my shoulder. I turned around with a fist ready to pummel the person who latched onto me, but I stopped when I found Aqualad, a shocked look on his face.

"You alright?" He asked, his face showing concern.

For a moment I just stared at him, a flash of an image of him having a piece of rebar piercing through his torso flashed in my mind, but I was shaken out of it,

"Beast Boy!"

I shook my head "Yea, yea, I'm fine." I said looking down towards the ground, not daring to meet his eyes.

"If you need to sit this one out…."

Instantly I shook my head and looked up, "No, no I'm fine."

As we walked down to the underground hanger I watched as the rest of the team enter the T-Ship. Terra and Starfire were talking with hushed voices while Raven looked down with worry. Robin gave Cyborg the thumbs up and The ship plummeted into the ocean.

Aqualad jumped in without a second thought while I followed in the form of a Mako shark.

Following Aqualad, to the newly constructed base, I used the heightened senses of the form to detect if the ridiculously named 'mind-controlled squid' was still there. To my surprise, there was nothing, no squid, no defenses, nothing.

That was never a good sign. It meant one thing, they wanted us to enter the base and spring their trap. As I followed both Aqualad and the T-ship to the closest hanger a sinking feeling built in my gut.

Breaching the water I shifted back into my human form. I looked around as everyone was exiting their respected cockpits.

Walking over the Aqualad and Starfire I watched as Robin handed Star a re-breather.

"Everyone knows their assignments, good luck."

With that, we dove into the water, my mind reeling on what would happen next.

Ω¥¥Ω

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Here I was with people who less than a month ago I would have betrayed, and now I was helping them or a mission where we could all die.

My gut twisted as we walked down the hallways, the feeling that danger was everywhere couldn't escape me.

The hallways were quiet, even the sound of our shoes hitting the bare metal floor barely reverberated through the hall.

Suddenly Robin stopped, Raven followed, and I the last in the group was left wondering what was happening.

"Um, guys?" I asked quietly, but I was stopped by a degrading look from Raven.

Suddenly I heard it, the low clomping of feet in the hallway, it had to be tens of pairs and they continued to grow closer.

Within a few moments, the guards were closing in on us, if a fight was what they wanted we were more than glad to oblige.

Robin went into the fray first, his staff swirling as he knocked the forward most guard unconscious. The ridiculous outfits that these men had to wear might just be hindering their ability to fight.

A hail of golden lasers was posed to shred Raven and me, but Raven quickly threw up a shield to protect us. Turning around she glared at me.

"Any time you want to jump right in, if you don't mind."

It took a moment for that to register in my mind, but I quickly threw on my goggles, this wasn't going to be a good day,

Ω¥¥Ω

I was watching everyone's backs in the form of a barracuda as we swam through the underwater tunnels.

A quick scuffle with a few security guards was an ideal way to warm up for the mission.

As we swam I couldn't help but notice that Starfire was a particularly good swimmer. While the enhanced strength was probably the main reason for it, I would have thought that being used to flying it would be unnatural for her.

I was sorely mistaken as she was keeping pace with even Aqualad.

I looked around in anticipation for piranhas, but even as we push to the end of the tunnel system there was no sign of them.

Then my senses picked up something small, coming down one of the adjacent tunnels. Suddenly an explosion of activity alerted my senses as I made of the tiniest of forms bolt right for us.

Instincts kicked in as I swam up to tell Aqualad who signaled Starfire to book it.

I looked behind us to see the swarm now trailing the feet of Starfire, it seemed that she was actually having trouble keeping up at such a heavy pace.

 _Not again._

With that, I fell back to behind her. The effects were instant, the piranhas locked onto me as I lured them away from Starfire, who was now being helped by Aqualad.

I tore one apart as the hoard attack, then another. The sheer ferocity of the creatures was making it difficult to dodge their attacks.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my back, followed by the same on my side. Soon I was finding myself covered in small bites and lacerations from the razor-like teeth of the predators.

I continued to lure them away, but out of the corner of my eye, both Starfire and Aqualad were escaping from the tunnel.

I quickly put all my strength into one last push for the exit, hoping that I would make it.

Closer and close, I closed my eyes until I finally breached the water and flung myself onto the solid ground.

I changed back instantly, my body still reeling in pain from what had just occurred. I could still feel a few teeth dug into my skin. Slowly I started to pry off the overly aggressive fish while gritting my teeth in pain.

"Beast Boy!" someone yelled.

I rolled on my side and pulled off the last of the fish, they just had to tear through where there was no Kevlar.

Looking up, Starfire had her hands clasped over her mouth while Aqualad's face was pale.

I gritted my teeth and looked down to the ground while pushing myself up. A few drops of blood fell as I forced myself to my feet.

"Beast Boy, are you…" Aqualad started but I cut him off.

"I'm fine, I'll heal," I said quickly.

"We need to keep going."

I started walking and the two behind me reluctantly followed.

 **So we're moving along here, I barely wrote this week, I kinda burnt myself out, but don't worry I'll still turn this out like clockwork. Just wondering, does anyone actually stay up to read this right when it gets published?**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- 12? I think 12, seriously where is the Dota 2 announcer?**

 **Mochafraptor- 2 Thanks!**

 **I'll be back with part 2 next chapter, until next time.**


	21. Chapter 21: Shockwaves: Part II

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit**_ _ **Futurum**_

Chapter 21: Shockwaves Part: 2

"C'mon, c'mon," Robin said to himself as he was kneeling down next to a wall console. A small handheld device was in his hand as its wiring connected with exposed wires protruded from a broken panel beside the LCD screen.

Currently Raven and I were keeping watch as he continued to hack his way into the door. An awkward silence had developed between us. Raven didn't seem to mind, the last thing she probably wanted to do was talk to me.

"We're in!" Robin said as the doors began to open.

Both of us ran over to him by the time the doors opened and we all rushed in.

To our surprise, only one person was standing there, Brother Blood. Currently, he had his back turned to us.

"Why hello, there Titans." He said as he turned around.

He tilted his head slightly at me, "Well aren't you new here, and you might be?"

I stood there in a defiant and ready stance, never breaking eye contact "The names Terra."

He smiled, "Well, allow me to introduce myself…"

With that, a red energy blast came racing towards us. Raven instinctively put up a barrier to protect us and as soon as that was down Blood came in close.

He went after Robin first, his skill more than a match for the Boy Wonder. As they tangled both of us prepared to join the fight, but a searing pain suddenly ran through my left arm. The pain was intense, so much so that I was quickly forced to the ground. The pain felt as if someone took acid and poured it on my shoulder.

Raven had quickly put up a shield around us as the H.I.V.E. guards started to swarm the bridge. She then took it upon herself to inspect the wound. "How bad it?" I asked.

With Raven behind me I couldn't see her expression, but upon hearing her voice, I knew it wasn't pretty.

"I honestly don't know, when we get back to the tower we'll know." She said

She moved the shield so that I could get behind cover, a command console seemed to do just fine.

"You stay there, I'll deal with the guards."

"I can still fight!" I protested

She shook her head "You'll only get in the way, stay here, that's final"

With that, she took off to fight the growing number of HIVE guards. On the other side of the room Robin was still fighting Brother Blood, and from the looks of it, he wasn't doing so well.

Ω¥¥Ω

I deep thud was heard as I stumbled forward, my knee keeping me from completely falling on my face. A quick hand rested on my chest to keep me from falling. Why did this body have to be so damn fragile?

I looked up to see Aqualad looking at me with concern on his face.

I gritted my teeth, and slowly stood up. "The generator should be right up here."

Looking over to where Starfire was I noticed she was simply standing in front of a doorway.

As Aqualad supported me, we made our way over there to see what she was looking at.

"Star, are you ok?" I asked, but then I noticed that down the hallway was the generator.

Recalling memories of us nearly being crushed I started to think of a better way to handle the situation, luckily Starfire already had one.

"This this generator of fields shall no longer stand in our path!" She yelled out as she charged up a Starbolt.

"Starfire no!" I cried out, we didn't know how the machine would react, but I was too late as she sent the energy flying.

As the two energies connected the machine burst into flames, a tremendous explosion rocked the entire room,

Unfortunately, there was only one way for that entire fireball to escape, and that was through us.

"MOVE!" I shouted and threw then down away from the blast, I also hit the deck, the impact causing me to groan in pain.

But as soon as it came it went. Slowly we got back to our feet, the previous danger forgotten.

Suddenly another large explosion rocked the underwater station, this one not originating by us.

I looked over at Aqualad. "Shouldn't we continue on?" I asked.

A swift nod was all I got in return as we began our journey to the center of the base.

Ω¥¥Ω

The pain was incredible, even with adrenaline coursing throughout my body, my shoulder still bleeding with a ferocity that I had never seen before.

I had torn some fabric from a downed H.I.V.E. guard and wrapped it around my wound, as I sat here behind cover I couldn't help but realize the sheer volume of yellow beams that went right above my head.

I could peak around my shelter, out to see how Raven and Robin both worked together and it was flawless.

It was as if two dancers who had two distinctly different styles of dancing intertwined but kept up a flawless performance. If it weren't so deadly it might be beautiful.

As Robin tired, both of them would switch opponents, Raven fought Brother Blood and Robin fought the guards. I tried to be of some use, bits of rock would randomly pick off outer lying guards.

All good things had to come to an end, however. Without any warning an explosion rocked the station, I shifted my weight a little to counteract the shaking, when it finally stopped I looked up

While creating a forcefield to cover his retreat Brother made it to the doorway, blocking it for both us and his own soldiers. Blood smiled from behind it, "Surfs up." He said as he pulled out a detonator from this robes.

With that another explosion rocked the control room, soldiers panicked as water and glass rained down on them, they were easy pickings for the two birds.

They were ready for the tidal wave of water came rushing at them, I, on the other hand, was just getting up from my cover and was completely washed into the surf.

As the salt water entered my wound beneath water I hissed in pain as the feeling of daggers went through my arm. I tried my best to push through the pain, but it was incredible.

I saw Raven coming to help me, she looked much more annoyed than anything else, but as she began to assist me to swim, by this time I saw Robin putting a charge on the doors.

He looked back to us and gave us three fingers, then two, then one. Suddenly I knew what he was doing and braced myself as best as I could.

As the explosives inside went off the shockwave forced into the water came at us. The pressure popped my ears and I felt as if I had dived a few meters below the surface.

However, the water began to flow out and it took us with it. As we were sucked towards the door Raven grabbed onto Robin with dark energy as he had been doing his best to swim over to us.

As we were sucked through the door and finally settled on the floor we all looked at each other, for a few moments no one spoke.

"Let's never do that again," Raven stated.

Ω¥¥Ω

The pain had been forgotten, the adrenaline was now pumping through my body as all of us were running through the corridors.

It was hard to reach the central chamber, not because we were lost. No, it was because every time we turned a corner there was another squad of H.I.V.E. soldiers there.

It was starting to wear on Starfire and Aqualad, I was probably pushing myself too hard as well, but years of constant fighting made you believe that you could continue, even when your body screamed at you to stop.

Finally, after what felt like hours of fighting we finally arrived at the door leading to the main chamber.

We all stacked up on the door, with Starfire preparing to charge through personally. However, that wasn't necessary as the door exploded outwards, into her.

Both Aqualad and I dashed to the side of the hallways to only have the door miss us by mere inches. When we broke out of our shock we looked down to find Cyborg sprawled out on top of the door.

Groaning he rubbed his head and got back up and like we weren't even there he charged back into the main chamber. "THAT THE BEST YOU GOT!" he yelled as went.

Starfire pushed the door off her with her own strength and looked at both of us with a confused look.

"Beast Boy, what just happened?"

Both I and Aqualad looked at each other, truth be told we didn't have a clue as to what just happened. However, we all eventually pressed on into the room, only to find it in complete chaos.

The central sonic cannon remained relatively undamaged, but the room itself was trashed. Debris and metal were strewn everywhere and at the center of it all were two combatants.

Cyborg looked completely exhausted, his moves showed little tactical thought and it reminded me of a boxer after going the distance. Blood, on the other hand, looked tired, but still, have a spring in his step, a burning desire to best Cyborg.

Immediately we entered the fight, each of us bringing our own tired, but nimble fighting to the battle. Within minutes Blood was being overpowered, his moves turning more and more defensive.

After a few minutes, I saw one of the doors open, I turned away from Blood to fight what I thought to be H.I.V.E. guards, but instead I saw the faces of the rest of the team.

In those few moments, I stopped fighting, a yell rang throughout the huge room, it reverted off the walls. I turned around to see Cyborg laying on the ground, with his arm torn off.

Brother Blood simply threw the arm he had to the ground and look around "Class dismissed." He said with a smirk as he teleported away.

We all rushed to Cyborg who gritted his teeth but got up, I had seen him with worse injuries, but it didn't make it any less urgent to get him back to the tower.

Suddenly the alarms rang out from the base, the self-destruct had been activated.

We all ran back to the T-Ship, along the way I noticed how Terra was being supported by Raven, as well as the poor patchwork on her shoulder.

It looked like this mission had taken more from the team than originally thought. More than last time and that meant that I was responsible. The team being hurt was because of the changes to the timeline.

And it was all my fault.

 **Alright, another week another chapter. Hope you enjoyed, did Brother Blood seem better? He seemed like he could do so much more.**

 **Shoutouts!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- yep just say it 13**

 **Be back next week, I had a lot of fun with that one. Hint* release the Beast. If you guys have any knowledge of the chronology of the show you know exactly what's gonna happen.**

 **Until next time**


	22. Chapter 22: The Beast Inside

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 22: The Beast Inside

The cage lights made the abandoned subway station eerie, it seemed as if the shadows morphing into foes wherever you looked.

 _Just like the Batcave_

A foot passed my head as I dodged it, suddenly a fist tried to connect with my face, but once again it hit only air.

Finally, the body had overextended itself and I took the opportunity to swipe low, knocking their feet out from under them. Instantly my opponent fell to the ground, "Good, you're getting there." I said as I offered them a hand.

He took it with an armored glove and lifted himself up, he was still perfecting fighting in the suit, but he was quickly adapting.

"I could feel it, I could see what you were trying to do with that style… how?" he asked, as he walked over to a water bottle sitting nearby. Turning away from me he took a long swig from it an instinct to hide his face unsurprisingly had been drilled into his mind.

"How do I know?"

I was brushing myself off from our spar and was using a towel to wipe the sweat from my exposed skin.

"There are some things that the mind forgets, but the body will always retain," I said.

"I want direct answers."

"Patience."

"ARGHHHH!" he threw a punch at a concrete support pillar in frustration, the concrete cracking as debris scattering the floor.

"I'm done being patient, I want the truth!"

I was unaffected by his outburst and simply continued to clean myself.

"I could break you, you know, it would be simple, I bet you would spill after the first few fingers"

I finally looked up to him. "You think you know pain, do you?"

He looked at me puzzled his anger forgotten.

"I have endured things even you couldn't dream up with in your worst nightmares, I've endured things that would make you puke at the sight of me afterwards, there is nothing that you can do to my body that I have not already gone through."

With that, I swiftly turned around and started to walk away. "Next lesson, two days, I'll give you some answers then, until then..." I turned around "Stay out of the Titans way, they have a lot to handle for the next few days."

Ω¥¥Ω

Back at the tower, everyone was licking their wounds. Raven and Robin were relatively unscathed, a few bruises and lacerations, nothing both of them couldn't handle.

Then there was Cyborg, the damage Brother Blood had inflicted on his cybernetics. Apart from his arm, which had to be entirely replaced, his entire body had to have extensive repairs.

Terra was in no shape for combat any time soon, the laser had cut deep into her shoulder and even with Raven's (although begrudgingly) help, she would still have a few weeks downtime to heal completely. Not to mention that her arm was completely useless and was currently residing in a sling.

I was currently awaiting the alarm, today Adonis would attack the research facility and I was not enthusiastic. I was going to do my best to keep myself from taking a shower in chemicals, but I knew that there was a high probability that I would.

I hadn't released him in such a long time, I hadn't spoken with him for longer still, but he was still there, the beast beneath the skin, and he was as angry as ever.

Perhaps talking to him would be the best option, not that he would be reasonable, he was an animal after all.

Walking through my standing mirror I walked over the table near the entrance, Malachor's book was off to the side, but now was not the time.

Picking up my mirror I was sucked inside.

The once nauseating sensation was almost a comfort to me as I arrived in front of Titans Tower, in the direction I was facing a jungle lay before me, a stone path leading to it.

Walking along the path I proceeded towards the jungle, never straying from the path as I got closer. I could hear the cries of numerous animals, but there was only one I wanted to speak to.

Reaching the very end of the path which held no imperfections at the end of the stones I stopped, I dared not enter the savagery in there, instead, I let it come to me.

Within a few moments a crashing sound erupted from the jungle, exotic birds flew from trees as it closed in, but I stood still not wanting this to be any more complicated than it had to be.

From the dense undergrowth a shadowy figure emerged, cast in shadow all the could be distinguished were the slanted yellow eyes, the eyes of a predator.

"It's been awhile..." I started.

A swift blow of air from the Beast muzzle sounded his attitude towards the situation. "Look, you know what's about to happen even if I can't stop it. I'm here to ask for your help."

While the Beast was not very intelligent it had over the years learned, more like adapted, the ability to speak. Even if it was not very sophisticated it was better than trying to decipher its feelings from body language.

"My mate is always under my care,"

I shook my head, "That not what I'm talking about, I have things playing out, long term goals that you could screw up, I need you to simply get the team out of harm's way and then you can fight Adonis all you want, none of that chase in the city crap like last time."

"The puny rival will find us, we will destroy him, protect the pack."

I nodded "Thank you,"

I turned to leave but was stopped.

"The red one that resides here, he is ready, he wants to leave."

I turned my head around to face him, "You can inform him that he's never getting out, not as long as his boss in locked away."

Ω¥¥Ω

As I walked out of my mirror the red lights and alarms were flaring, it was time. I dashed through the hallways to the common room to see all the others gathered around the main screen.

"What's going on?" asked trying to sound confused. Cyborg turned around his arms crossed.

"There's been a break-in at an animal testing facility, we don't know what's exactly happening."

Just then Robin turned around "We're about to find out, Cyborg get the T-Ship ready the rest of you, we're out in 3."

As everyone turned around Robin called out "Terra, not you."

Whipping around Terra seemed defensive, "I can still help!"

Robin shook his head "You can't fight and you have an injury, you're in no shape to be out on a mission.""

She was about to retort, but my hand rested on her uninjured shoulder.

"Listen to him Terra, there will be plenty of other missions."

She turned to look at me and nodded, I could tell she was dying to prove that she could mean something to the team, but now wasn't the time.

A few minutes later Terra watched as the Titans boarded the T-Ship. The engines powered up creating a rumbling roar and the aircraft flew out of the hanger.

¥ΩΩ¥

Within a few minutes, we were at the labs, landing the T-Ship we entered the building through the front entrance, or at least what was left of it. As we went through mangles equipment and machines the eerie feeling of being watched passed over us.

"I do not like this very much," Starfire remarked.

Robin was leading the group with Cyborg using his flashlight, I was currently running up the rear.

Out of nowhere, an entire I-beam shot towards us like a spear, "Titans move!" shouted Robin who was now taking cover.

Everyone but Starfire evaded while she chose to instead slam her fist into the incoming piece of steel. I watched as the metal bent around her fist and while she was pushed back the speed of the projectile had been all but extinguished.

As it fell to the floor with a defining slam Starfire turned to us brushing off her hands and smiling to herself.

"So, you are as powerful as they say."

Everyone broke cover and saw the figure who had thrown the I-beam. A towering man, in red exo-suit. Adonis.

"Well don't be shy, let me introduce myself."

With that, he launched himself at us, directly into the center of the group. His first target was Cyborg who was swiftly swept aside as he was taken by surprise.

Robin launched himself behind the towering man and attached a charge to his back. Even as it exploded Adonis was nearly unaffected by it. Instead, he chose to assault Starfire.

As the two engaged each other I went to check on Cyborg. "You alright?" I asked.

He groaned and rubbed his head "Yea grass stain, but I really hope I don't have to repair everything all over again."

As I helped him up I watched as the remainder of our group engaged this new foe.

"Go, I'll be fine," Cyborg said, I nodded and jumped into the fray.

As Adonis threw Raven out of the way I morphed into a sasquatch, something that wouldn't be too hard for my younger body and proceeded to pummel him while his back was turned.

As he was thrown to the ground I heard a low growl as he quickly got back up and surprised Robin who was backhanded into a metal cage.

He charged me and as we went through the next wall I felt as if I was being run over by a train. I didn't remember Adonis being this strong, but if I won in the past then I would win now.

I dug my feet into the ground and stopped his advance. Suddenly the sound of hundreds of animals filled the air, we were in the storage facility.

"So, the squirt does have some strength." Adonis taunted before throwing me against one of the walls.

I shifted back and fell to my knees before shifting into a Titanoboa, I slithered around his leg before rapidly wrapping myself around him. Tightening my muscles, I tried to immobilize him, but even my natural strength couldn't outmatch the power of machines.

He pried me off of him and threw me to the ground. As he attempted to stomp on me I rolled away in human form before changing into an ape.

I didn't even realize the container behind me as the next blow came over my head, ducking it, the fist instead connected with the tank, which sprayed its pressurized liquid all over us.

Adonis was caught off guard and was pushed backwards as I proceeded to take advantage of this and push the attack. With every impact of my fist against his metal frame, my anger grew until it was all-out fury.

My muscles stretched beyond their limits, the skin on my hands began to tear as I tore into the metal surrounding Adonis. Wires, jagged metal, nothing mattered but getting to the core.

When I finally had him I tore him out of the suit, the tall scrawny weakling in front of me was nothing, just a waste of my time.

I threw his unconscious body down to the ground. Taking a few breaths to calm myself down I started back towards the hole that we had created. As I walked my entire suit squeaked from being drenched. While it wasn't the worst that could happen, it was annoying.

The original room we were in was trashed, and as the others picked themselves up their attention turned to me.

"Yo, Grass stain, what happened to you?"

I didn't answer as I walked towards the exit, I was done for the day

"Let's go home."

 **Oh my, who wants to see the Beast raise your hands.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- you get a cookie (13)**

 **One week from now you guys get one of my favorite chapters I've written, leave a review, tell me what you like, what you hate, or think will happen, anything you want.**

 **Until next time,**


	23. Chapter 23: Instincts

_**Forget Politics, Read Fanfiction Edition**_

 _ **Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 23: Instincts

The water flowed down my skin, all the bruises and cuts either rejoiced in its feel or screamed in anguish. As the last of the green liquid left my body I looked down to my hands, or more specifically my knuckles.

The skin had already begun to heal, but it had still been torn as if something had escaped from the inside.

I didn't remember feeling this way the first time, and it scared me. This feeling, this raw power, it was there, unleashed.

I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. First drying my face, it felt like I was still trying to get off the green liquid.

Leaving the bathroom, I got dressed in civilian clothes. They conformed to my skin from being small, they were rarely used. I wasn't about to tear my good uniform tonight, and these still shifted with me thanks to Cyborg.

As I put the move valuable things in my room away into the pocket dimension or put them in a more secure location I felt a growing pain in my abdomen.

At first, it was an annoyance, a slight pinch. Then it grew and grew and soon it was an all-out pain. It wasn't the greatest pain I had felt in my life, but I was quickly driven to the floor in agony.

Finally, I realized what was needed, so I let it all out and yelled.

Ω¥¥Ω

I didn't usually wake up for any reason in the middle of the night. However, this particular night I was forced awake from a loud roar.

Getting out of bed I clipped on my cloak and walked out into the dimly lit hallways. There was only one person capable of that in this building and I was heading straight for his room.

Standing in front of his door I knocked three times, a defining silence came and when nothing happened I called out his name, still nothing.

As I turned to leave there was a great crash and the door was blown outwards by someone or something.

In the dark, it was hard to see but I could defiantly tell it was getting up. Within an instant, it lunged at me, but I wasn't fast enough to dodge its claws.

It tore into my left bicep and the force of the blow knocked me again the side of the hallway. I failed to brace myself as my head collided full force with the wall.

My vision blurred as I fell to the floor and forced myself to look up. As the now distinctly red creature came closer something crashed into its side. I watched as the second beast picked up the fallen creature and threw him down the hallway.

I suddenly felt myself being picked up by the cloak and taken somewhere. My senses began to leave me and the last thing I remember was the beast jumping out Beast Boy's window.

Ω¥¥Ω

When I came to the first thing that came to my mind was the ground. It was course and cold, the distinct feeling of concrete.

Then there was the smell, it smelt musty and had a faint odor of sewage.

Even without opening my eyes I knew there was a lack of sunlight, I must have been underground.

As I opened my eyes, the sight that greeted me was an arched stone ceiling. As I sat up my body finally felt the pain in my arm and turning to it I saw the three distinct slashes from the red creatures claws.

I quickly got to work, tearing a piece of cloth off my cloak I created a makeshift bandage to try to quell the bleeding. I winced as I tightened it around my arm, the pressure while painful was necessary.

As I was finishing I finally picked up on the sound of steady deep breathing.

Turning around slowly a large mass of green fur greeted me. Slowly getting up I, began to stealthily walk away as to not wake it up, luck would not be on my side. My shoes did tend to make a lot of noise.

Within my first few feet, the creature shot up and tensed in my direction as if looking for a foe that dared to challenge him, but his eyes only fell onto me.

It was then that I could get a better look at the creature, his fur was a deep dark green, his body seemed to be lined with muscles and spikes protruded from his elbows and knees.

The eyes were that of a predator, and shined in the darkness meaning he could see me just fine, and his face was hideous with razor sharp jagged teeth that went in every direction.

What was perhaps the most disturbing was the scarring. Some were so fine that they disappeared under the fur, while others left inches of its body without hair.

At first, I felt powerless, with my injury I knew I would be easy pickings for this apex predator and perhaps he was just keeping me around for a snack. However, once he finally realized that it was only me moving he relaxed and closed in.

I dared not move as his nose came right up to my face, his exhales were strong enough to blow my hair back as if I was in front of an industrial fan. Soon he began to aggressively smell me, like a bloodhound on the trail of a wounded animal he went over my body, at least until he found his way to the bicep.

It was there that he released a sort of gravel from his throat, and proceeded to take once of his razor sharp claws on his hand and cut away the now soaked bandage.

He was careful and calculating. His claws came millimeters to cutting my skin but somehow they didn't even scratch me. Then when the cloth was still sticking to my skin he proceeded to pull it off carefully with his teeth.

 _Now I'm done for, he's tasted my blood_ I thought.

Instead of eating it, he simply pulled it away and spat it out. Then in a completely surprising move, licked the wound. His tongue had the texture of sandpaper and as he went over the wound I winced.

It was much like a wild animal would address its' own wound, but it was on me instead. As he pulled back, saliva was left dripping down my arm, it was getting in the wound and I thought that this would be an excellent way to get an infection.

However, suddenly the pain stopped, it was as if the saliva had a neurotoxin in it and as I looked down at it in astonishment the wound slowly began to heal.

It was incredible and slightly revolting to watch as the muscle slowly sowed itself back together before my eyes.

It was then that I looked up to the massive creature in astonishment and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding "Thank you."

The beast turned around and proceeded to once again lay down on the ground, this time I could clearly see six spikes protruding from the center of its back, it was curious as they went evenly spaced down his spine in pairs of two.

 _What kind of world spawned this thing?_

I walked over to it and it didn't even react as I knelt down in front of its head.

"You don't want to hurt me do you?" I asked it.

I seemed to have an intelligent response as it lifted its head and shook it.

So it was intelligent, or at least enough to understand language. This thing was in Beast Boy's room, and the other creature was red, so logically…

"Beast Boy?" I asked it quietly.

But it ignored me as its head shot up and began to quickly sniff the air. Soon it was up on all fours and proceeded to kneel down.

Its side was now facing me. I looked up at him, "Do you want me to get on your back?" I asked incredibly.

I only got a swift snort in response, so I climbed up his fur with my one good arm as he assisted me and he took off.

I hadn't even been fully seated when he raced forward. It was like being on the outside of the T-ship at full speed I help onto the clumps of fur as the best I could, but even that felt like it wasn't enough.

It felt like forever, zigzagging through the tunnels and sudden sharp turns littered out trip, but eventually he stopped.

I could hear muffled shouting and someone had a flashlight as it was being shined on the beast, but I couldn't get a good view around to see who it was.

That was until someone yelled "Titans Attack!"

The beast tightened his muscles under the fur and just as the battle seemed inevitable.

"NO!" I shouted and it seemed like everyone froze. I slid down the side of the creature and came out from around him.

"Raven!" Robin shouted.

I could see all of them now, Starfire with Starbolts charged in her hands and Cyborg with his sonic cannon ready both flanked Robin.

Starfire moved forward first "Friend Raven it is good to see you unh..."

However, the beast growled as she advanced and he walked up and towered over me.

I turned around "It's alright..." but he didn't seem to be liking any of this.

I hit him with my good arm and he looked down at me, his face softening.

"They.." I said and pointed to the team "are friends."

I was finished and walked towards Starfire, the beast still stood there, tense and ready for a fight.

"We did not know what had happened, we feared the worst," Starfire said as she embraced me.

Robin was straight to business, always professional "Do you know what happened?" he asked.

I rubbed my left arm, "Yea, something was in Beast Boy's room and so was this thing." I said pointing to the beast behind me.

"The big guy saved me, and well, I kinda blacked out."

"Are you sure, that doesn't look like a particularly nice pet." Cyborg chipped in.

In response I swiftly turned around and walked up to the beast, he responded by looking down at me and I walked up to him.

"Raven, what are you doing?"

I ignored Robin and when his face was close enough I reached out and scratched the bottom of his chin. For a moment he just stood there and tensed up, but soon his head seemed to bob as I scratched back and forth. I hadn't noticed before but the fur was actually very smooth, it reminded me of silk, but at the same time seemed to be incredibly durable.

"He actually healed my arm for me."

Robin seemed puzzled "So you're saying that there were two of these things, one red and this one green?"

I nodded.

"And we didn't find Beast Boy."

I stopped scratching "What if this is Beast Boy?" I asked.

Everyone turned to Cyborg, who put up his arms defensively.

"Whoa whoa, don't look at me for an immediate answer."

Suddenly a roar echoed throughout the tunnels, one that rivaled the creatures before me.

Instantly a low growl came from deep within the beast and in a blink of an eye he dashed off in what seemed like a random direction.

Without hesitation, we all took after him, but with its superior speed and agility, it soon outpaced us. However, we were able to still follow the sounds of battle.

As we all chased a flash of red was thrown in our direction.

"Titans Move!" Robin yelled.

If we hadn't been trying to get out of its way, then we were now, especially as a green blur went after it.

The red creature had landed and was now facing the Beast.

It was noticeably smaller, its muscles not as defined and overall stature much less developed, but it looked much less savage in nature.

It did not sport crooked teeth, nor did it have scars lining its body, instead it seemed like a young male challenging the long-reigning alpha and the alpha was out of his league.

The smaller animal lashed out, but despite his size the green beast dodged with agility unrivaled and soon tired of the game.

As he dodged the last blow he swept the feet out from under his smaller counterpart forcing him to the floor.

Quickly he grabbed him by the ankles as proceeded to use him as a baseball bat against the concrete walls.

"Such savagery..." Starfire commented and as the walls of the corridor shook I had to agree.

Finally, he threw the smaller creature down to the floor right in front of us, like a trophy offering.

I watched as the red creature slowly shrunk back down into a tall scrawny male who was currently unconscious.

Suddenly a cry of pain shook us from our examination

We all looked up as the Beast convulsed. Slowly and what looked quite painful he began to shrink, his muscle shrinking and fur retreating. It all converted back into a humanoid shape, and finally into a familiar green changeling.

For a moment he stood there, wearing ripped civies, but eventually he began to waver, and finally fell to his knees.

Immediately we all rushed forward, Cyborg reached him first supporting him with his cybernetic arms to keep him from falling on his face.

"Whoa man, you alright?" he asked experimentally.

Beast Boy shifted and squirmed out of his grip.

"I'm... fine I don't need help," he said weakly, he was being stubborn and immediately almost fell down again, this time it was me that caught him.

Looking up at me had disconnected look, his eyes seemed glazed over.

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I went with the simplest and probably with the least meaning.

"Thank you," I said hoping he would remember what happened.

Slowly his eyes began to close as I supported him, but before he slipped into the realm of unconsciousness he spoke in a nearly inaudible voice.

"No need."

 **Yes, forget politics and join me in reading an extra-long fanfiction chapter. Hopefully, this will distract you for 5 minutes, but hey, it all adds up. So what do you think about the Beast, remember the Beast is (in my mind at least) a physical representation of the animal side of Beast Boy, the Primal side of him. So is it too much to ask what if it adapted to the future, the healing saliva was thought up from how animals lick wounds, why not have an actual interesting healing factor, not one that just regrows arms!**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- 15, hmm, what now?**

 **Adrinsane- Thanks for enjoying** **the story.**

 **Azarath Cat- Welcome Back! I'm not giving away anything, but a wiser man than me once said 'The night is darkest just before the dawn'**

 **So, ignore politics for a few more seconds and leave a review! Because how many times can you possible check the news in one hour?**


	24. Chapter 24: Monster Inside Me

_**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 24: Monster Inside Me

I woke up in the infirmary, the smell of antibiotics and sound of machines filled the air. I could register an IV in my arm and an ice pack on my forehead.

As I opened my eyes the fluorescent lighting stung my over expanded pupils and I rapidly shut them to avoid more discomfort. However, I quickly blinked and the pain was gone, now I just had the dull feeling in my body.

Sitting up I rubbed the back of my neck, every muscle in me felt like it had been stretched to its limit and beyond, like I had just finished the most intense physical activity in my life.

I looked around the room, empty, or so I thought. A quiet disturbance alerted me to someone behind me. Turning around there in one of the seats with her arm still in a sling sat Terra sleeping softly. Her head had rolled down to an unnatural position and it was curious she wasn't snoring.

I shook my head, pulled out my IV, got off the medical bed and went over to her. It wasn't until then that I realized I had on a hospital gown and while Cyborg made the wise decision to have much nicer clothing than cheap clothes it still felt like I wasn't wearing anything.

So, I quickly grabbed a pillow in a nearby chair and propped up her head, I wouldn't have wanted a sore neck when I woke up.

I decided that I needed actual clothing so I walked out of the infirmary and down the halls. If anyone was to catch me this early they would probably send me right back, so I quickly and with great stealth made my way back to my room.

Unlike last time it wasn't completely trashed, the bed was just pile of wood and so were the dressers, but since most of the contents had been moved it wasn't like I cared.

Going into the untouched closet I pulled out my only uniform and put it on. I was expecting a knock or some kind of person rushing into the room at any moment, but it never happened.

When I was done I went back into the halls and towards the common room, if they weren't in there then they would undoubtedly be out on a mission.

As I went through the doors the room was quite, too quite. However, before I could even examine the room thoroughly was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.

"STARFIRE, STOP!" I heard someone yell and suddenly all the pressure on my body released.

I fell to the floor was a thud, that had really hurt, a star-hug was not something you wanted after an infirmary visit.

Two sets of arms pulled me back up and guided me over to a nearby chair.

"Man, what are you doing out of the infirmary?" Cyborg asked.

I took a deep breath and recomposed myself "I'm fine guys, I'm just a little tired."

All of them were around me now, and each one of them gave me suspicious looks while I just shrugged.

"You're going back to the infirmary," Robin said with authority. I was about to quickly retort, but Terra came crashing through the door.

"Guys have you seen..." she said with a worried look on her face, but it soon fell as I was sitting there surrounded by the team.

"Jesus guys, give him some room." she said disapprovingly and made her way down to us.

Each took their leave, Robins orders forgotten, but they didn't go far as all of them took a seat around me.

"So…. how's it going, guys?" I said sheepishly, but none of them looked like they were amused.

It was Robin who spoke up first "We want to know Beast Boy."

I tried playing dumb, maybe to play dumb or to get them to glance over the situation, "What do you mean, know what?" I said with a smile, but none of them budged.

"We wish to know about this… Beast." Starfire said.

My face fell and I looked at their feet "Be careful what you wish for..." I grumbled to myself.

"If you won't tell us that's fine, but I want to know because I want to know why it saved me," Raven spoke up. There was no way to dodge now.

Bringing my hands up to rub my face I leaned back in the chair, how could I best describe it?

"He's not … evil, but he's not good either." I started, it was time for half-truths and full lies.

"He's primal, he's just..." I said gesturing to my chest. "he's… still human, but he's not me, not entirely."

The group in front of me was silent, but Robin always had something to say

"So you knew about the Beast before this incident?"

I nodded "A long time, but he's never actually been released." Lying came easily these days.

Raven was the one who spoke next. "Why did he take me, away from the tower, why didn't he leave me here and take the fight out of the tower?"

 _Because he still likes you._ I thought, but kept it to myself.

"He must have felt protective, the team is like a pack to him, and when you were hurt I guess he thought it would be best if he took you."

Raven didn't seem truly satisfied with that answer, but I stood up.

"Look, guys, I know it might seem weird, but I don't have all the answers and I'm kind of tired, so could you let me get some sleep, please?"

Before any of them could object I left the room and headed to my own. I wasn't lying, I needed to lay down and shut my eyes for a little while.

Just as I began to undress a knocking was on my door. Not bothering to put the top of my costume back on I went and answered the door.

¥ΩΏ¥

I wasn't going to let him slip away so easily. As Beast Boy left I got up to follow him, exiting the room I saw him turn a corner, but before I could follow him someone grabbed my wrist.

Turning around I came face to face with the one person I truly didn't want to converse with right now. Looking down at my wrist I glared.

"Terra, let me go," I said.

Terra didn't even flinch which was… impressive because she was still injured and had her arm in a sling. All things considered, she should have felt a little defenseless.

"Let him go, he needs time." she stated.

I raised an eyebrow "Since when has he needed that, other than more of it to clean his room or play video games?"

Terra shook her head "It's more complicated, didn't you see him, he's obviously beating himself up about this, what if it was you?"

I narrowed my eyes, she was walking a thin line right now. I was about to retort when she cut me off.

"Hehadnightmares." she blurted out.

"Excuse me?"

Recomposing herself she began explaining "When you brought him to the infirmary I stayed there, but when you left he was tossing and turning, he was mumbling, but I couldn't make out anything."

I shook my head "We all have nightmares if that's all I'll ask him about it but for now stay out of my way."

That was it, Terra let go of my wrist and I walked towards Beast Boys room.

Knocking on his door I truly didn't expect what I was about to see. Beast Boy answered, but without the upper part of his costume on. I couldn't help but notice the physic of his torso, honestly, I would have never expected it.

For a moment I said nothing, but he did. "Raven, I'm exhausted, can this..." But it couldn't.

"I want to know if you remember anything," I said recomposing myself, there was no need to feel awkward we were teammates.

He shook his head "Bits and pieces, but not all, it's like film, but with 90 percent of it missing all that's left is little snippets or single frames."

I frowned "I just wanted to make sure but, when you said the team is like a pack to the Beast, I think you're wrong."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow but didn't stop me. Taking a breath, I began to tell the story of how I awoke in the tunnel and everything that led up to reuniting with the team.

"When he saw them, he didn't treat them like a pack, but like threats," I explained.

Beast Boy pondered this for a few moments before shrugging "Perhaps he felt threatened by them, or he was just being protective of you, either way, if that's it I really need to rest."

It was true he did, he was looking worse by the minute and I took my leave. I wasn't going to bother with the dreams, it wasn't uncommon, but there was something else.

"One last thing..." I said turning around.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes at the thought of another question, but I didn't have one this time.

"I wanted to thank you, truly, if you didn't save me Adonis probably would have killed me and you did heal my arm," I said looking down at it.

He raised his hand "That was the Beast, not me,"

I shook my head "Something tells me that he's as much as you as you are of him," With that I finally left with probably more questions than answers.

¥ΩΏ¥

I walked down a familiar path to the forest where the Beast resided. I could already make out his outline at the end of the path waiting for me.

Upon reaching him I didn't give him a moment to speak "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

The Beast, unfazed, simply stood there and took it all in. No matter how much he disliked it he knew who was truly in charge.

"I asked you if you could handle this but apparently it was too much to ask!"

"I know you don't care that much about them, but c'mon at least make an effort to recognize them, be non-threatening, something, you can't just care for one person, let go of what happened last time!"

The Beast just looked down "They were the ones who attack first."

I shook my head "We both know that's not the real reason, besides that doesn't give you the right to simply attack your friends!"

"Correction; _your_ friends, not mine."

"It doesn't matter, we could have avoided this if you had finished Adonis off in the tower, there was no need to take Raven out of there!" I exclaimed throwing my hands up.

He leaned down, to where I could feel his breath on my face.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it, her gratitude, her thanks, deep down you liked it," I said with a toothed grin.

I shook my head "That not me, that's you, I know you're protective of her, but there was no need to..."

"LIER!" he growled/yelled. "You can stay here and be swallowed by your guilt, don't find a single person to be happy with, but just know that there are some of us who want to move on."

I frowned my face going into a cold stare, "You can't tell me what to, or not to do, I don't want to have to put you in a cage again do I?"

With that threat, the Beast pulled back. He now stood at full height "I guess that's that then." He said while turning around.

Before he turned back into the forest all together he craned his neck around.

"By the way, when she scratched my chin it felt great." he said with a toothed grin.

Then I was left there, alone, like always.

* * *

 **So that's that then.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **Adrisane- Thanks!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Obviously coconuts are much more dangerous compared to sharks, first off they kill about 150 people a year compared to sharks below 10. Also, they can be brandished as a weapon, since when can you throw a shark at someone else?**

 **mochafraptor- long time no see!**

 **Azarath Cat- Man you are going to hate me over the next few chapters… sorry.**

 **So that's all folks, leave a review, drop some suggestions or some complaints, either helps.**

 **Until next time.**


	25. Chapter 25: Eastward

_**Thanksgiving Edition**_

 _ **Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**_

Chapter 25: Eastward

I was relieved, today Cyborg would finally allow me to take off the arm brace. It had been two weeks and the medical care coupled with Ravens healing abilities I should be fine. Since Cyborg was leaving for the Titans East tower in a couple of hours he decided it was best to check before the left

I was quickly learning the identities of all the team. Cyborg, for example, was the big brother, caring for everyone and anything associated with the team, including me.

Starfire was the proverbial cheerleader, the naive girl who only wanted to help and being a super powered alien seemed to fit quite nicely.

Robin was the leader, a fearless one at that. The well-crafted posture, the stone cold expression, unmatched in terms of combat, all of these crafted by a mentor. If he really was _the_ Robin then I would hate to know how he got through being teamed up with that person. The secrets he holds have to be a burden, I couldn't think of anyone else who held such a burden

Raven, well, she was the shut in and a healer. She cared for the others that was for certain, she wouldn't put up with them otherwise. Other than me she didn't have a problem with any of them, except for Beast Boy.

Then there was Beast Boy, he seemed to have a place, the jester, someone who cemented the team, someone who cracked jokes and reminded them that being a teenager and having fun was still a thing, but he also had another side to him something only I had seen.

The comforter.

And something I truly didn't know how to describe. For me whenever I see him I get the feeling someone would get after being saved from drowning and seeing their rescuer, perhaps that was what it was, he was the rescuer.

Then there was me, was there really a place for me? What was I? Could I ever…

"Yo, anyone there!" Cyborg shouted into my ear.

Instantly I jumped and nearly fell off the medical bed.

Looked up Cyborg was putting away a needle.

"When I told you to think about anything else I didn't mean THAT deep in thought."

Ahhh needles never liked a fan of them.

Grabbing a tablet Cyborg flipped through it a few times before smiling.

"Yea, you can take that thing off now."

I smiled and began undoing the straps with my unrestricted arm. "Though I need to see the impact point again."

Sighing I turned around and pulled up my sleeve, Cyborg poked and prodded at it a few times before giving up.

I had seen it in the mirror a day before and I could say I would never be able to wear swimsuits comfortably anymore.

It was a large circular scar that had jagged edges that jutted out like lightning bolt. I smiled as I turned around and stretched out for the first time in weeks.

"Now don't go smiling like that, you're not going to be doing any heavy lifting in the next week, you have to let it heal if I catch you I'm going to put it back on, got it?" Cyborg said, like a mother braiding her child.

I waved the now freed arm dismissively, got up, and quickly left the room.

Heading outside I walked towards the shore. More specifically the rock Beast Boy and I had sat on, where I had confessed about my powers, it seemed like such a long time ago. I squinted as I could make out a figure sitting there, at first he was hard to make out but when I was closer I could easily distinguish him.

Nearing him I examined the view today, it was wonderful the clear bay, the blue sky, it was so perfect.

Ω¥¥Ω

Everything was so wrong.

The clean air, the cool breeze, the shining city. They didn't belong.

I had sitting there for about half-hour, just staring off into the distance. The last time I had seen this city it was ruined, burned to a crisp, and I truly hadn't stopped to look over it again in its magnificence.

I watched with enhanced vision as a group of school children walked to the shore side. A few teachers surrounded them as their guardians while a rope connected each of them to each other as they held on.

They had finally come to an observation deck where they all took out binoculars that their parents probably gave them at home, or they paid a few cents to look through a mounted optic.

So full of innocence, so full of life.

Suddenly something latched onto my shoulder, instinctually I grabbed on and threw it over me into the water.

A high pitched shriek echoed and I blinked a few times, before realizing that a certain blonde was now swimming in front of me.

"EXCUSE ME!" she yelled as she brought herself back up onto shore.

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, reflexes, they developed with demand, and it just so happens that I didn't like being snuck up on.

As she sat down next to me she started to ring out her hair.

"Mind explaining that to me?" She asked in a rather annoyed voice.

I just gave a fake week grin, "Robin trained me well."

She rolled her eyes and sighed "Well, I guess I might be able to dry out here."

I finally began to relax again and started to stare out into the bay once again, so did Terra, but peace and quiet never last long, especially with the Titans.

Clearing her throat awkward she looked at me, "Sooo, Beast Boy, I was wondering if maybe…." she started, but trailed off.

I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow was she seriously doing what I thought she was doing?

"Well, maybe you don't, but maybe it would be nice if…."

She _was_ doing what I thought she was.

"Maybe it would be nice if we went out sometime, got pizza ya know, a movie."

I mentally just threw my head in my hands, was I not clear on this subject before? Had I not spelled it out for her last time.

"And Cyborg just took off the sling, so I'm 100% now, I can do just about anything!" she said with a smile.

I took a deep breath, this was going to be painful, not nearly as hard on me as on her.

"Terra, have you ever been in a relationship, like a real serious relationship?"

For a moment she paused, and then shook her head. I in turned reclined back, readying myself for this.

"People think it's great, and for a time it is, at first both people want nothing more than for it to last forever," I started.

"But then you have to put in more effort to keep it feeling that way, and it's a two-way street, both people have to give and give, and if they give more and more, equally eventually it blossoms into something wonderful.

Then again…. if one person lags behind, or stops giving, BOOM it's gone. And some people can't recover from that, they can't be the same. Terra, you are, talented, funny, extremely beautiful, but I can't be with you." I finished.

Terra threw up her hands, something seemingly finally broken "And why not? Why? You keep saying that, but I don't hear any actual answers, just 'no Terra' or 'I can't'!" she said.

I shook my head "Terra, it's something I can't do. I've been there, I've given and given before in two relationships and I'm not ready to do it again."

Terra instantly calmed down and looked at me this time with a confused face "You've… loved before?" she asked incredibly.

I smiled sadly and looked away out into the bay. "Yea, it was a long time ago, I gave everything I could and it still didn't work, true love is a fairytale, I learned that the hard way, instead, love is about compromise and sacrifice, and I'm not ready to give again just yet."

For a moment she was quiet and I looked back over at her, she tilted her head so that her golden hair ran like a liquid golden waterfall off the side of her head.

"I am"

Then she started to lean in, closer and closer, feet to inches, millimeter by millimeter until she was less than an inch away.

It was like Greek Sirens calling, but I didn't move, she had stopped, eyes closed, waiting for me to lean in and finish it, but I couldn't, how could I?

Why did she want me so bad, what had I given her? Redemption, that was easy, I couldn't give her anything she needed, I couldn't give anyone what they needed. Not even the last woman I loved.

For a few moments she was there, waiting for a kiss that would never materialize, and she finally opened her eyes, but I was gone, back to the tower, back to my solitude.

Ω¥¥Ω

I watched as Cyborg loaded his luggage onto the T-Ship, hours of prep time had left him tired and looking forward to the trip on autopilot.

The entire team had walked in to say goodbye and I hoped that he would come back, as this timeline had changed, maybe he would stay and leave us forever.

Just as he was getting to me Terra walked in with a suitcase. "Cyborg, I want to go to Steel City."

Everyone just looked at each other, where had this come from? In the back of my mind, I connected it with that had happened earlier, but that was surely paranoia. Right?

For a moment everyone looked at each other, confusion written on each face.

"Um, Terra, I don't think that you'll really be..."

"What, useful?" She interrupted "I still have my powers, besides you wouldn't want me being here unsupervised, I could be doing all sorts of things."

For a moment Cyborg just frowned, backed into a corner he reluctantly shook his head

"Alright, throw your stuff in the back, but you get the right pod." He said with an annoyed tone as she passed him.

It was well known that the right pod had the worst seat, luckily it was mine, but Cyborg always had an excuse for not fixing it. It was likely his punishment seat.

As Terra threw her things in Cyborg climbed up. Coming over to us she began to say her goodbyes.

She hugged Starfire, shook hands with Robin and assured she would be useful in to the team out east and that she would be back in no time.

What worried me was the fact that she didn't even so much as look at me. This was because of me, perhaps she just needed time.

As the T-Ship shot off over Jump I kept repeating that in my mind, all she needed was time.

 **So that's why you're gonna hate me. Beast Boy needs some time off so we're heading east!**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- HA HA HA HA, that's a great joke because no one's getting any stress release… funny you mentioned Trigon….**

 **Adrinsane- So what if she was, what would she had understood or even comprehended 0.o**

 **Vin- I think you forget that Beast Boys Christian, and while future events may have shaken that belief well, there will be none of that.**

 **Azarath Cat- *Smiles sheepishly* So, well, yeah… look on the bright side, Terra got rejected.**

 **So something to read while you decompress from relatives, happy Thanksgiving. P.S. this is also something you can read for Cyber Monday.  
**


	26. Chapter 26: Steel City

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 26: Steel City

As we soared through the skies above the mid-western US I looked down over the land. At such a high altitude and speed nothing was particularly identifiable, but it didn't deter me from trying.

Cyborg had resorted to something in his own seat, probably tinkering with a new gadget of some sort, I, on the other hand, had kept staring out the window.

The flight would take a little over an hour. Cyborg had done an amazing job creating this aircraft. Flying at hypersonic speeds in the upper atmosphere was exhilarating. It seemed like the world was moving at a snail's pace and you were passing it by.

Suddenly I head Cyborg over the coms.

"Alright, we're getting ready to descend."

I nodded, he would never see it, but I did it out of reflex.

From this high in the atmosphere, Steel city was hidden from view as dark clouds kept it obscured. As we pitched downwards we finally hit the clouds.

Water stuck to my canopy and slid off in synchronized streams from pure aerodynamics. I noted how beautiful it might have been if it wasn't blackened from pollution.

When we finally broke through, the city came into site. Large towers rose all around the city from the major industrial centers.

Streaking across the sky I continued to watch as we neared the edge of a cliff. Suddenly Cyborg pulled the aircraft into a steep dive. Instantly my stomach flipped as I felt the effects of negative gs.

I pulled out the puke bag and for a few moments just waited for myself to throw up, but eventually the nausea subsided and I looked back outside.

I was greeted with the landing pad on top of some building, slowly I opened my cockpit and exited the aircraft. Looking around there were crates, raw materials, and power tools all spread out here.

As Cyborg climbed down he too looked around.

"So much for a greeting party."

Entering the tower itself I noted that there was so much to do. Panels lay along the floor while wires were hanging from the ceiling, their proper positions unfilled.

What alerted us to the presence of the others was the thunderous yelling of a decrepit Atlantean. As we neared we could make out exactly what he was yelling about.

"FISH TOCOS?! SOME OF THESE COULD"VE BEEN MY FREINDS!"

Entering the room, I called out with a small smile. "Hey, I'll take one of those."

Instantly the group turned to us. I had heard about the team when Robin was informing us. Aqualad I had met, Mas and Menos were new, Bumblebee I never really got to be introduced to since I had been rushed to the infirmary and then there was Speedy, I had heard stories from Robin.

"Holla Chika!" the two Guatemalans shouted as they sped towards me. I froze as they started to spout different sentences in Spanish. Unsure of what to do I just stood there nodding.

"Mas, Menos! Let the girl be!" Bumblebee shouted and drove off the two speedsters.

Extending her hand, she smiled "Bumblebee, we didn't get to talk much, how's the shoulder.

I rotated it out of habit, "It's getting better,' I said with a light smile. She nodded, "I hoped so, we could use someone like you."

I smiled, guess they were having trouble in the sub-levels.

"Seriously couldn't you have gotten any other food!?" Aqualad cried.

I shook my head as Cyborg went around greeting people, "How about Pizza.?"

Ω¥¥Ω

I was teamed with Aqualad for the sub-levels assignments, and instantly I knew why. The first floor had been completely flooded up to my knees.

"So, did any of you know how to properly construct a building?" I asked.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Not really, we all kind of just pick up the tools and ran with it."

I shook my head, looks like I was going to have to reinforce the foundation, the walls, move some clay…

"So, we never really got to meet properly." He said a bit awkwardly.

I arched an eyebrow, raising an arm my hands began to glow gold, I could feel the shifting dirt and stone outside the walls, it was going to take some time to fix this as I had to be gently not to collapse the building.

"Well, I'm Terra, part of the Teen Titans, that's about it," I said sarcastically.

He smirked as he used his own powers to try to get the water out of the building.

"C'mon, there's got to be more to it than that, what are the Titans simply taking anyone with superpowers off the streets nowadays?"

I shook my head as I focused more effort into rearranging the soil. "Alright, if that's how you want to play it, you tell me a little about yourself first."

He turned his back as he began to concentrate the remaining water into one of the corners.

"Well, I'm Atlantean, born, raised, and trained there. I was _the_ original Aqualad." He said with a smile.

"The original?" I asked a little puzzled.

He shrugged "There's another, or should I say was another, I ended up taking a break and he took my spot, after an incident I was once again Aqualad, I much rather not talk about it."

I nodded "Alright, fair enough, the Titans found me when I was near the city, in a nearby desert to be exact, afterward, they took me in."

He shook his head, "Nah, couldn't be that simple, besides Robin never mentioned you the last time I had seen him, before our last mission together."

I frowned as I finished the last much-needed repairs, rotating my now irritated shoulder I placed my hands on my hips and looked at him as he removed the last bits of water from the floor.

"I left shortly after, and then I came back later."

"Why?"

"There were complications,"

He turned to look at me "C'mon, compilations, is that your best excuse?" he scoffed.

I was growing slightly irritated "It's not that simple, you don't even know what I… the team had to go through!"

He crossed his arms and stood there calmly, "Well try to make it simple for me."

I shook my head and turned away "You don't want to know."

"Sure I do, c'mon, how am I going to get to know you if…"

"BECAUSE ITS HORRIBLE!" I turned around and yelled at him. Realizing what I had just done I slouched, and began to sit down against the nearby wall.

"It's not simple because I did something that no one should forgive," I hesitated for a moment "I betrayed my friends, and somehow the people that actually felt like family to me. I'm guessing you've heard of Slade?" I asked.

I received a nod in response as he walked closer to me and crouched in front of me.

"I had difficulty controlling my powers, thinking about it now it was actually pretty obvious, but I guess I wasn't exactly rational then."

I looked up his concerned face held a frown. "Hey, I didn't mean to get too deep if you don't want to talk about it…"

I chuckled a little bit "I guess I should finish, you know it's good to finally talk to someone about this." I said with a sad smile.

He took a seat in front of me, his body language showing complete focus. I took a deep breath and began to explain.

"I left the Titans because I was angry, more specifically at Beast Boy, I thought he had told every one of my lack of control over my powers, but in reality it was obvious.

Slade had offered me help previously and I left, he found me, trained me, and forced me to be his double agent inside the Titans.

However, Beast Boy, don't ask me how, even I never figured out how, he knew that I was a double agent, but he still accepted me, gave me a second chance." I looked down into my lap self-consciously.

"It's just… how can I be part of _that_ family, how can I look at them and not be ashamed of what I did?'

Burying my head in my hands I just relished the darkness, until I felt a hand grab my wrist. Looking up I say Aqualad, and I was met with the face of pity.

"I don't think you should be beating yourself up about this, I'm sure I haven't heard the whole story, but from what you told me, in the end, you did what was right, and that's important."

I snorted "It doesn't change the fact that I can't look at one of them without being reminded, it doesn't change the fact that it seems only Beast Boy believed in me"

Frowning he got up, "Well, from where I stand it looks like you've done your best to prove to them that you've changed, now all you can do is wait to see…"

I frowned, I wanted to talk to him more, tell him every little detail and bleed out my heart, mind, and soul to him, but before I could I was cut off by him.

"So, maybe we should move on and start on the next floor."

My eyebrows rose, the last minute's emotional turmoil suddenly forgotten. "There's another!?" I asked incredibly.

He nodded, "And a few others."

I groaned, this was going to be a long day.

Ω¥¥Ω

"I should have the last slice because I was covered in paint!"

"I was electrocuted with 2000 volts!"

"Nos dispararon un arma de clavos"

"I rewired the entire mainframe!"

"ENOUGH!" I yelled.

Instantly all the eyes at the round table turned to me, in the center of the table were multiple pizza boxes, all empty save for one, with a single slice of pizza left.

I looked down at the pizza then around at the assembled heroes.

"I shifted multiple tons of dirt on _five_ different sublevels AND was covered in head to toe with oil from your backup generators!" I shouted, the thought of it made me shiver.

No one protested when I pulled the piece of pizza from the plate and ate it happily, however, a few people could be muttering something under their breaths.

It seemed like nothing could bring this day down.

Suddenly a high pitched siren came from the tower, both I and Cyborg instantly smiled at each other, tonight was going to be fun.

 **TITANS EAST, hooray? Hope it was enjoyable, I've been having some difficult time finishing up Season Three, in fact it's taken 5 weeks, but I've finally finished.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- *Strokes chin curiously* Rose Wilson, hmmm.**

 **Kurokawa Kazunari- Ah yes, but who says it needs to be Raven who finds out first?**

 **Azarath Cat- Well, you'll be missing out on the next bit.**

 **Make sure to leave a review, sure helps me.**


	27. Chapter 27: Steamroller

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 27: Steamroller

Just as we got up from the table and began to rush to the city Cyborgs personal communicator

Activated.

The rest of the group hesitated for a moment before Cyborg waved them off dismissively

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

I the team nodded as they went off to the briefing room to see what had happened. I stayed and watched as Cyborg talked into his communicator.

He went back and forth with his banter, but eventually his shoulders slumped.

"Are you sure?"

My heart stopped at those words as Cyborg, cut off the call with a less than enthusiastic attitude.

Slowly he turned around to me, his face falling towards the floor.

"Robins ordered us back to Jump, apparently, professor Chang escaped." He said with a depressing voice.

I groaned, we had just gotten here, and everything wasn't even set up. The tower was practically only half completed and we needed to teach the Titans East a few things.

Cyborg and I walked back to the main control room to see what was happening in Steel City, apparently, it was enough to get the attention of the monitoring system of the tower.

Pulling it up on the screen Aqualad rubbed his chin "Someone's broken into one of the steel plants, apparently, the workers have been evacuated."

Cyborg crossed his arms "Looks like you guys are going to have your first mission as a team."

All their faces lit up in excitement or anticipation, but it didn't last as Cyborg broke the news.

"Listen," he started "Robin ordered us back to Jump, you'll have to do this on your own."

There was an instant outcry from the super powered team. Slurs were sent in Spanish, Bumblebee asked who Robin thought he was and Aqualad was trying to be logical. The only one who wasn't expressing their opinion was Speedy who instead was combing his hair n the reflection of one of the deactivated screens.

Gradually the roar came down and they Aqualad took the lead. "You can't be leaving so soon; the Tower isn't even finished yet."

Cyborg frowned "Orders are orders; we should get going as soon as possible."

"At least accompany us on the first mission," Bumblebee said.

Cyborg looked over to me, I shrugged it really couldn't hurt.

"Oh, what the heck, it's only Dr. Chang."

Ω¥¥Ω

As we flew through the air at subsonic speeds we still quickly reached the designated plant. Since the entire ship was not designed to hold this many people, some were forced to sit on others laps, this to the dismay of the latter.

Cyborg took us to the designated plant and landed the T-Ship in a large parking lot, which had been void of cars probably due in fact to something tearing down their plant.

Quietly we all got out and gathered around Cyborg.

"All right, I want…. wait where are the twins?"

Suddenly everyone turned around to see the dust cloud of the two speedsters as they ran through the main factory doors.

Cyborg facepalmed, alright, we can do it that way.

We took off after the twins, but as soon as we reached the main floor doors the sound of battle emanated out of them.

Once inside we saw the twins continuously spinning around a gigantic robotic humanoid. The robot itself was yellow and black and wouldn't be out of place at a construction site.

"You know this guy?" I asked Aqualad, it wasn't anyone from Jump.

Aqualad frowned "That's Steamroller, he's a local."

"All right, let's wrap this up, Titans..." Cyborg shouted, but before he could finish they were already off.

Turning to me he raised an eyebrow "They didn't even let me finished." He said with a hint of disappointment.

I smiled and shook my head, tearing up a piece of ground I flew off towards the fights.

The factory ceiling was quite high, which gave me an excellent view of the unfolding battle. Steamroller had thrown away the twins and was now being pummeled by arrows from Speedy. Aqualad was trying to get into position while Bumble Bee was flying around the giant trying to do anything significant.

I began to raise the ground over Steamrollers feet in an effort to immobilize him, but he was able to easily break out of it.

Cyborg had finally joined in with his sonic blaster as Steamroller lifted a slab of concrete and threw it at Speedy.

As it flew towards him he fired a halfhearted shot and jumped out of the way. His lazy arrow then connected with Bumblebee who was thrown back into a wall.

I shook my head as I saw Cyborg and Aqualad were the only ones currently fighting, I started to collect bits of rock from the floor and flew right over the menacing opponent.

Diving bombing him, I began to through every bit of stone, dirt and gravel I could. All Rained down on him creating a large dust cloud. As I released the last of my ammunition I pulled away and headed towards Cyborg.

Touching down in front of him, the rest of the team had joined us.

"Alright, have anyone you actually worked as a team before?" Cyborg asked while pinching his nose.

All of the Titan east members quickly looked at each other and shook their heads. At the same time, the cloud of dust began to dissipate.

"Um, guys…" I started

"Alright here's the plan, Speedy, Mas, Menos you need to get over to the batch of molten steel over there," Cyborg instructed

"Um, guys…" I said again as the figure of steamroller started to appear out of the debris.

"Bee, you need it to lose balance to fall in, and Aqualad you need to cool off that steel."

"Guys!" I said as steamroller picked up a rather large looking smelting pot from the ground.

"what are you and Terra going to do?" Aqualad questioned.

Cyborg smirked, "we'll improvise."

"GUYS!" I shouted as the solid steel structure came hurtling towards us

"TITANS…. GO!" Cyborg shouted and everyone took off as the pot landed where the group had been previously situated.

Speedy once again took off towards the edges of the building, weaving in and out of machinery pelting the robot while Mas and Menos went about tormenting it. They weaved in and out of its legs, insulted it in Spanish (at least I think) and overall just annoyed it to the point it couldn't do anything but attack them.

The pool of collected steel was slowly cooling off, dark masses had already come to the surface, but I knew it was still enough to get him to sink.

Cyborg was also pelting it with sonic blasts from the other side of the factory and Bumblebee was pestering its face as it got closer to the molten steel.

As it was only moments away, Bee forced its' synthetic eyes closed and I raised the ground around it causing it to loose balance. Cyborg fired with the full power which was just enough to force it into the liquid below.

"Now!"

Instantly water rushed over the section of steel, but not before the head of the beast pierced the surface.

There was an explosion of steam, the airlock forced everyone back and the area was blanketed in a thick fog.

Slowly I made my way into the fog, I could feel the vibrations from the footsteps of the team. I closed my eyes and concentrated on each position. I imagined a stone pillar leading them all towards a single location… me.

As they all neared me I opened my eyes to great them and eventually out of the steam they appeared.

I smiled "Not bad team, not bad."

They all nodded and smiled, but our moment of peace was soon interrupted

"Freeze!" someone shouted, turning around an officer stood with a few companions.

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Well, time to get to know the locals right?"

Ω¥¥Ω

After a lengthy conversation with the local police, we eventually boarded the T-Ship and headed back to the tower.

Everyone headed to the showers, minus Cyborg who wanted to check the T-Ship's systems again as it would be a long flight and as he put it 'anything could have happened in that battle'.

I thought that it was plenty far away, but I didn't argue as I wanted to get out of my sweat covered clothes.

The water washed away all the filth and grime that I had not removed myself. For a few moments, I just stood there, basking in the heat. I let the water cleanse every pore, every cut, and every scar.

Self-consciously I reached around and touched the newest addition on my back.

I had a weird feeling about this team, they were good together, but with mean Cyborg they were great, a little guidance goes a long way.

When I got out I quickly got dressed and headed back to the top of the tower.

Once I reached the hangar I roof as I realized the entire rest of the group was gathered around Cyborg.

Suspicious I walked slowly towards them, all were smiling and joking, but they were supposed to talk longer, Cyborg couldn't have checked all systems this quickly.

"So, what's the occasion?" I asked suspiciously, as I reached them

It seemed as if they hadn't seen me as I closing in, so they were slightly startled upon my arrival.

Finally, Cyborg spoke up "Oh, sorry Terra, we're just getting ready to celebrate our first victory as a team." He said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow "Wasn't it you who wanted to leave for the jump as soon as possible, it's a reasonable long flight." I said while crossing my arms.

Aqualad coughed at the mention of that and turned towards me "Yea, about that, look we were wondering…' He said while he rubbed the back of his head

"We kinda asked Cyborg and we were wondering…" he stumbled over his words again.

I raised an eyebrow "Just spit it out."

"Would you like to be a part of the Titans East?"

 **SHOCKER! UNPRESIDENTED! INSANITY! Or you could have just wondered how Terra was supposed to get home without Cyborg. That crossed my mind and I had a little laugh about it, but I'm guessing that you guys saw this happening. However, will she take the offer?**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Kurokawa Kazunari- You're trying to keep it in the team, try expanding your horizons, that's how I see it.**

 **The Dimensional Reader- A) Man 11** **th** **-hour review, I was worried B) Dude I don't write this chapter to chapter, why did Robin really leave the East Coast, what was the real accident that caused Cyborg to need cybernetics?**

 **How's the new cover image, better? Like the old one? Leave your thoughts in the comments.**

 **I'm really tired from finals and end of semester projects so this might have some mistakes, but I'm so tired that I really don't care right now. Don't forget to review, it really helps.**

 **Until next time.**


	28. Chapter 28: Choices We Make

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 29: Choices We Make

I looked at each of them. I blinked, then I blinked again as they waited for an answer.

"You're joking right?" I asked incredibly, there was no way they could be serious.

They all just looked around at each other before Cyborg stepped in.

"They're not joking Terra, they want us here."

I raised an eyebrow, what exactly was he thinking? We were needed back in Jump, we had done what we came to do there was nothing more.

 _But you like this_ said a little voice in the back of my mind.

"Listen, Terra, we're not a team, we couldn't even beat Steamroller without your guidance, maybe we need you to teach us how to be a team." Said Aqualad.

I shook my head "Listen, we really need…." But I was cut off by the beeping of Cyborgs communicator. We all looked at him as he wasn't making any move to answer.

He rolled his eyes "Urgh, alright." He said before lifting his wrist "Yea Robin."

"Cyborg where are you guys, aren't you close to Jump?" I could hear his voice even from across the group.

For a moment Cyborg paused, probably to think how to best break the news, before he finally spoke. "Yea, about that Robin….."

Ω¥¥Ω

"Could you at least tell me _why_ I'm losing part of my team?" Robin's voice rang through the commons area of the Titans East Tower.

I was currently residing on the couch as the last few hours had been exhausting. Cyborg instead was trying to reason with robin with the most inefficient way of a shouting contest.

"I'm not actually decided yet," I said raising my voice to get my two sense in.

"You shouldn't go with the East, it will leave the Titans depleted and you need more training." Robin pointed out to my dismay.

"Who says you can tell her what to do?" Cyborg inquired, with his finger pointing to his distant adversary threateningly "I can finish her training here."

Robin crossed his arms on the large screen "You have a startup team that has never worked together and you want to throw Terra into it as well." Robin said while raising an eyebrow.

Cyborg took a similar pose "Well we didn't fair much better on our first missions, did we? It took time, just like it will here."

"I just want to know why you want this?"

"BECAUSE MAYBE I JUST WANT THIS, OK?!" Cyborg shouted, "MAYBE I WOULD LIKE TO GUIDE MY OWN TEAM AND TEACH THEM WITHOUT A STUCK UP BRAT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!"

The silence grew in the air as Cyborg took labored breaths following his outburst, Robin looked down at both of us with his signature glare.

"Terra, I would like your answer by tomorrow noon."

With that, the screen shut off and I quickly left.

Ω¥¥Ω

Sweat dripped down my face as my body shook from the impact of my fists against the punching bag. The wrappings on my hands were drenched in sweat as I had been in the towers gyms for the last hour.

It was nice to train, made me feel like I was actually progressing and it helped my physic as well.

As I began to finish I heard the distinct call of my Titans Communicator. Ceasing my hostilities towards the bag I walked over to where I left it.

Grabbing a towel laying next to it I whipped the sweat from my face and tried to make myself presentable.

Answering the call I was slightly surprised to see Beast Boy on the other end, I was half expecting Robin to be on the other end trying to get me to come home right away.

"What are you doing Terra?"

Snapping out of my thoughts I began to gather the rest of my belongings.

"What do you mean?" I asked, was it not obvious enough? Perhaps Robin didn't fill him in fully.

"What are you doing there? You being here in Jump." He said, and to what I could tell it was sincere.

I sighed as I began to exit the gym area and walk back to my room. "Well, maybe this is good for me, being away for a little bit," I answered half-heartedly.

He just narrowed his eyes "You haven't decided yet." He said accusingly.

I rolled my eyes, why did he have to be so good at this "No, I haven't, in fact, I've been trying to decide for the last two hours without sleep."

Reclined back, it was now that I noticed he was sitting down in the chair whined in protest.

Finally reaching my room I punched in a combination of the number pad beside the door and entered.

"I don't think it's a good idea." He said plainly, his attitude deteriorating as I put away my other clothes.

"Well, it's not for you to decide, is it?" I asked with a hint of annoyance.

"I'll sleep on it, I'll call tomorrow I promise." Before he could retort I shut off the communicator.

Right now I needed to take a shower and get some sleep.

¥ΩΩ¥

Sleep was peaceful, nothing could bother you here. Or at least when you were not having a nightmare and right now I was just enjoying oblivion.

Suddenly my eyes shot open as a burning pain started in my arm. Panicked I looked over, a small man and two others stood by his side as he had a needle injecting me with some questionable clear liquid.

I instantly shot up causing the needle to go flying. Quickly I summoned up rocks which shot up through the floor and when straight at the men. I wasn't really concerned about the floors, the towers always got repairs.

Suddenly I felt drowsy, my vision blurred as I stumbled a little.

 _What the hell did they shoot me up with?_

I quickly regained my footing, but once again the room swirled. Reaching the closest wall quickly I supported myself as I stumbled into the hallway.

Perhaps the common room would be the best choice for me, I once again leaned heavily on the wall and tried to guide myself through the halls.

Luckily enough for me, the guest rooms weren't located too deep inside the base so as I boarded my level's elevator I felt relief. Then utter anguish as I proceeded to evacuate my entire dinner onto the floor.

Could this day get any better?

When the elevator stopped I watched as the doors opened and the sight of 20 cloaked figure's backs towards me.

Apparently, it could.

"Ah welcome back did you…."

Suddenly a the cloaked figures turned around, for a moment nobody moved, instead hey all stared.

As quickly as I could I threw up a shield of rock to keep myself from being disintegrated by what felt like hundreds of sonic cannon beams flying towards me.

My world spun as I took off down the unfamiliar hallways, as I ran around the closest corner I instantly collided with someone.

We both fell to the ground, and as I prepared to fight, but I recognized the red costume.

"Speedy?" I asked as I slowly picked myself up, the drug made it had to balance, but I managed with the aid of the wall.

"C'mon we need to move," I said trying to get him to follow me.

"Terra wait." He said, his voice sounded off, if just a little.

I turned around to asked him what his problem was, but right before I finished a fist came into my face instantly disorienting me even more.

I was lucky I didn't hear a snap, but I did feel blood slowly rushing out. I couldn't worry about that though as a certain archer was trying to pick me up.

He had his bow around my neck and was trying to either drag or pull me up, although he wasn't having much luck with me struggling.

I knew I was at a disadvantage as my world was as my world continued to spin. In an act of desperation nad perhaps a bit of irrationalism I threw my elbow back between his legs.

The effects were instantaneous, he groaned heavily and fell to his knees his target forgotten.

I quickly got up as fast as possible and dashed off down the hallways minding my balance. I pulled out my communicator.

Barely about to read the swirling text I selected the most recent contact, Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, Beast Boy!" I yelled into the communicator, but only static greeted me. I left it on and put it back on my belt in case it got through.

I kept moving through the base, staying in one place was probably suicide, so I kept going the halls taking me in any direction, at least until I found Cyborg.

When I entered the room his sonic blaster was instantly trained on me. At first, I nearly laughed in relief, it was only Cyborg. However, when I looked at him he was not looking very happy.

"Cyborg, what's going on?" I asked him, but he just stood there silently.

"Terra, I'm sorry about this." He said as he shot a sonic beam at me. Just in time, I put up a stone barrier, but it was instantly destroyed by his fist.

"Cyborg stop!" I yelled, but he kept coming towards me.

"I'm not gonna be fooled again!" He said as he fired another beam at me.

I threw myself to the floor in an effort to evade the incoming blast, but I still felt the shockwave of the explosion behind me.

I shook my head trying to rid the spots from my vision and proceeded to tear more rock through the floor right beneath Cyborg.

The pillar of rock crushed him into the ceiling and up through the next floor. For a moment there was silence, and just then my body began to feel the pain or the last hours activities.

My nose still had a slight bleed, no dought my face was covered in red. My healing shoulder was also quite sore, I hoped after all of this Cyborg wouldn't put the brace back on.

I lowered the pillar and hopped on myself, the circular opening in the ceiling being more than enough for me to get through. As I reached the next level I saw Cyborgs limp figure on the ground next to the opening.

Cautiously I reached down to check on him, he seemed too still.

"Cyborg are you al…"

Suddenly he swiftly grabbed my bad arm, "Sorry Terra."

He then proceeded to punch with his other hand right on the front of my shoulder. I didn't hear the sickening crack over my own screaming.

 **Ah, another Friday, don't worry guys the finale is next week.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- In regard to Robin that's too easy and for Cyborg c'mon, of course, that's the textbook answer, is this a textbook story?**

 **Kurokawa Kazunari- Oh yes, speculate away my friend, speculate away.**

 **Azarath Cat- Don't worry finale is next week.**

 **So hope you enjoyed your weekly Friday night spectacle, a little warm up for the weekend. Don't forget to drop a review, this guy always likes feedback.**

 **Until next time.**


	29. Chapter 29: Blood Runs Still

CHRISTMAS EDITION!  
Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 29: Blood Runs Still

I looked down at what I had just done. Terra lay there, unconscious from the pain, her shoulder had been shattered from the blow, that much I knew.

I didn't have a choice, she was just like the last three, Mas y Menos were probably the hardest opponents I had fought. Brother Blood had to have brainwashed them all.

Suddenly I heard a slow clap from the darkness of the hallway. Spinning around I pointed my sonic blaster at the only known assailant.

"Wow Cyborg you really did a number on her," Brother Blood said as he exposed himself fully.

"And to think I didn't even have to lift a finger."

I raised an eyebrow "What do you mean, you took Bee, the twins, Aqualad and Speedy, you really think I didn't know Terra was brainwashed."

Blood laughed "Actually she escaped my clutches and fought Speedy, the poor boy, he'll probably be peeing blood for a week," He said with a smirk.

My heart fell if he hadn't brainwashed Terra then that meant…

He waved his hand dismissively "No matter, it wouldn't have made a difference anyways, class if you will.

Out from behind him a series of five bodies emerged from the darkness.

Ω¥¥Ω

I watched as the black clouds gathered over Steel City.

I thought back to the last time I saw the great industrial metropolis, how bright the night sky lit up from the planted explosions.

The city had been converted to produce the newly designed machines and while I didn't have anyone with me at the time I sat up on a far distant hill and allowed myself a quite moment of watching the factories burn.

Wasn't like I was hurting anyone, all the workers had been replaced by machines.

The few I may have killed probably wished for their deaths as they were more than likely being used as slave labor.

I was quickly ripped from my thoughts as the T-Ship shook from turbulence from the final approach. It had been a long time since I had seen the East Tower, too long.

As we landed on the top of the tower, since we didn't know the clearance codes or exactly where the landing bays were we didn't have much of a choice.

As we touched down all of the team got out of the ship and gathered together.

It was Robin who spoke up first. "Alright, Brother Blood has this place on lockdown we need to find a way in,"

I barely could make out anything from the static-laced transmission that Terra had sent, but I was sure to add in some information about Brother Blood and Cyborg rejects from the last time to see if we could come in with some sort of advantage.

"I think our best option is going through the glass on the top floor, I'm pretty sure the common room's there."

Raven glared suspiciously "And how do you know the base's layout?"

I shrugged with a slight smile "Terra was telling me all about the nice commons, surrounded by windows."

Robin just shook his head "That's a conversation for another time, Raven if you would."

Silently a black disk materialized beneath robin and I and we slipped quietly into the air.

Slowly we descended in front of the tower with Raven and Starfire flying next to us.

As we came to a stop we could make out two figures, one talking to the other who was secured to some device. The latter probably being Cyborg.

"We should liberate out friend Cyborg and crush this brother of blood," Starfire said enthusiastically.

"Just wait Star, I think Bloods walking off," Robin said cutting the Tamerianian short of smashing the glass, but surely Brother Blood was walking away from Cyborg.

We all waited a few minutes before Robin cut through the glass silently to create a hole big enough for us all to go through one by one.

As we approached Cyborg he seemed… drained, almost apathetic. He didn't resist against his restraints, he didn't seem to have the will to. I knew the body language well, almost too well.

Silently we approached, like a steady breeze we reached him and without any warning Starfire ripped off his restraints.

Instantly she wrapped him in a bone crushing star-hug "Oh friend Cyborg I thought we would never meet again." She said cheerfully.

Cyborg smiled weakly his usually upbeat persona wasn't present, Robin not missing a beat, however, went right into business.

"What exactly happened?" Robin asked with the intent of getting every detail he could out of Cyborg as possible.

"Yeah, well, I was working on the T-Ship, I wasn't in the mood for resting, all of a sudden Bumblebee walked in and tried to knock me out. After that Aqualad and finally Mas and Menos. I beat them all, but Tera showed up, and…." He hung his head in shame "I thought she was controlled I didn't know…"

Robin laid a hand on Cyborgs' shoulder, "Hey, I need you to pull it together, this is your mission, you know this tower and you need to take us to wherever Blood took the others."

Cyborg slowly lifted his head up "It's alright Cyborg, everyone here has made a few mistakes."

Some more than others I thought miserably.

Slowly Cyborg straightened his stance "Alright, lets do this."

Ω¥¥Ω

I usually didn't like attacking an enemy head-on without preparation, it didn't suit anyone who did so in my future.

Although it was proving quite effective now.

Charging into the room where the rest of the team was being held we overtook the guards quite easily, being only completely robotic replicas of Cyborg we knew their styles of attack. They were much easier to fight than the ones I had fought before.

Dr. Chan ran off to wherever he was going to hide and as we started liberating the Titans East my attention was drawn to the fact that we were missing Cyborg.

Ω¥¥Ω

There we were, him and me, on top of the Tower. His body was enhanced, torn apart and put back together, with everything in between being metal. I made me sick to my stomach.

I didn't ask for this, to be made half a man, then to see someone else do it to themselves to be 'better made me want to vomit.

"Come now Cyborg, getting cold feet?" He asked as he charged towards me.

"Not a chance." I shot back as I ran towards his approaching figure.

Above us, clouds swirled, more than what was typical for Steel City. As we collided a flash of lighting lit up the roof and a clap of thunder shook the sky.

With speed like the bolts of lightning he struck out at me, his hands were like daggers as they dug into my armor. While the damage was minimal it was annoying. I intern landed a solid hit on his stomach.

We both disengaged and looked at each other. I brought up my sonic blaster ready to fire, while he laughed instead,

"Really, you think that will do anything against me?" He asked mockingly.

In response I fired a blast towards him, he intern waited until the energy was less than 2 feet in front of him before deflecting it to his side with a swipe of his hand.

I gritted my teeth and in defiance fired more in rapid succession. By now he was advancing, his pace casual as if he were strolling on a sunny day. Shot after shot was deflected, left, right, above it didn't matter.

By now he advanced so far that I was having to slowly walk backward. I was running out of ideas, so I powered up a larger blast and sent it towards him. Instead of having it deflected it hit him square on and a giant cloud of debris blocked my view.

I lowered my cannon if that was it I was going to be disappointed.

Suddenly something struck me squarely in the jaw and sent me flying in the air. I impacted so hard against the metal that I made a huge dent in it.

"Now Cyborg," Brother Blood said in an amused tone "what did you forget in your lessons?"

I gritted my teeth from the pain I was feeling as he casually walked over to me "How about never let your guard down until you know your opponent can't do anything, hmmm?" He asked as he pressed one of his feet on my chest.

"How does it feel to be hopeless, Cyborg, hmmm to be utterly alone?" he asked leaning down towards me.

"I still have my team," I said defiantly.

Gasping Blood let off some pressure, but then stopped "Oh, you couldn't mean this team right?" he asked as he snapped on of his fingers in the air.

Instantly eight bodies appeared in the air in a circle around us.

"No..." I whispered, but Blood heard.

"Oh yes Cyborg, oh yes." He said as he applied more pressure to my torso causing it to crack and a footprint to be imprinted.

"Now I'm going to shred you, rip you apart, dismantle every piece of you until I can find out how you can resist me, and when I do not one of you friends or anyone else will be able to resist me!" He yelled.

I could feel the spit hitting my face as I looked around at my friends, all of them looked beat down, how could this happen, we were doing so well…

Then something hit me and I began to start chuckling,

Arching an eyebrow Blood looked at me in confusion "Whats so funny?" he asked sounding annoyed.

"Oh, nothing, just that you have terrible math skills."

His face showed pure confusion until something very green and very fast struck him in the back and sent him flying.

"Missed one," I said to myself quietly.

Instantly due to the loss of concentration all of the people frozen in place were dropped to the ground. I rushed over to Terra to keep her from hurting her shoulder anymore.

"I'm so sorry Terra, I said quietly.

She just nodded as I ripped off some fabric from her pants to put her arm in a sling.

"FOOLS!" I heard Blood Yell as he threw Beast Boy in cheetah form away from him.

"You'll never understand!" He said as he charged towards the group.

"Titans, GO!" I shouted as we all charged towards him.

My sonic cannon, Bumblebee's Stinger's, and Speedy's arrows launched forwards to be met by one of Brother Blood's shields.

However, he wasn't ready for a Tamarania's strength which shattered his shield quickly.

Backing off he went towards Aqualad who caught him by surprise from the side with a blast of water.

We soon boxed him in, all of us surrounding him and closing in. Whenever he tried to escape someone would force him back.

Until finally he had only 20 feet in al directions.

"No, you can't… " but he never got to finish that sentence as I rammed into his back forcing him to the ground.

Flipping him over he was in pretty rough shape, his armor was cracked in many places, different components were falling out and his robotic eye was shattered.

"Do you really want to know where my strength comes from Blood?" I asked as I pressed my foot against his chest.

I got a quite mumble in response, I smiled "Well I'll tell you anyways."

"It's not the machines, it's not just the man, it's the team," I said while pushing harder against his chest "that's why you couldn't control me, I'm part of something bigger than myself, something you can't understand."

With that, the insane cyborg promptly passed out.

Ω¥¥Ω

I walked towards the edge of the tower, there was a beautiful sunrise approaching and I wasn't about to miss it, it may have also been because of a certain blonde who was also standing there watching.

As I approached her I slowed down, made my steps as quite as possible with training by Nightwing and promptly stood there next to her.

"We're wheels up in ten, but I'd be willing to bet that you're not interested," I said not taking my eyes off the tip of the sun coming over the water.

"Come here to talk me out of it?" she asked, I had overheard the conversation between her and the Titans East and the offer still stood for her even if Cyborg went back west.

"Yeah," I said rubbing the back of my head, I was tired, sore and just overall miserable, after I noticed Cyborg was gone we were swarmed by replicas and remembering how this was before I, to my humiliation, left the team to ascend to the roof alone.

"Why are you doing Terra, staying? You're _already_ part of a team."

She rubbed her face with her left hand awkwardly, "I don't think you can understand," she said quietly.

I simply sighed "Try me,"

"I feel like the only person that trusts me is you," she started "Raven simple hates my guts, Starfire… well, I can tell she's still hurt from… earlier circumstances, Robin is Robin, I don't think he trusts anyone, I thought I could trust Cyborg and he would trust me, but well…" She said while gesturing to her shoulder.

"That was the last straw…"

"But Terra, we can keep you safe, you're making a huge mistake…" But she cut me off with the wave of her good hand.

"Maybe, but that's for me to find out."

I looked back out over the horizon, the sun now just finally rising fully into the sky, beautiful.

"We have to stop talking on rooftops." She said with a slight chuckle.

I sighed "Yea.."

"Yo Grass Stain, you coming?" I heard Cyborg yell.

Slowly I turned around, but stopped half way and extended my arm. "Please, don't do anything stupid." I pleaded.

She turned and smiled "Of course," She took my hand and rapidly pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek.

I jerked away out of reflex, and to a disappointed look on her face, I walked away.

Joining my team I watched as we all climbed into our respected seats.

Titans East looked up at us as we started up the ship.

"See Robin, I told you a spare ship would come in handy" Cyborg bragged, in response, I heard Robin grumbling about expenses.

Suddenly Aqualad shouted out from the rooftop "Hey, what should we do with the other T-Ship."

I looked over to Cyborg who just shrugged, I instead took the Initiative.

Looking right at Aqualad as the engines started and made it near impossible to hear anything, I smiled "I don't know, paint it blue or something."

With that final remark, we lifted off and headed back west, towards the next stretch of our journey.

 **So yea…. Sorry?**

 **Ok, ok, ok, explanations, Terra doesn't belong with the regular Titans. Even superheroes have trust limits, this was the plan all along, so get used to it! Doesn't mean that's the last of terra though, wink wink, nudge nudge.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **Beakers47- Well thanks for that, join us here every Friday night for more… um I don't know what would you guys call it?**

 **Azarath Cat- *Evil Laughter* *Evil Laughter Continues* *Chuckling and wiping tear from my eye* 'The night is darkest just before the dawn' *Evil laughter continues***

 **The Dimensional Reader- Turning 50, look at you…**

 **OK, Christmas break, I don't know if I'll upload next week, just to keep my sanity, this conclusion took over a month to write, tons of writers block and finals, so I lost a lot of ground in the story, maybe I'll catch up….. probably not.**

 **NEXT UP…. TRIGON, my personal favorite**


	30. Chapter 30: Rust

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 30: Rust

I was wondering when Robin would have us start patrols around the city.

Not that I minded, in fact, I rather enjoyed it. It allowed me to cut loose without the others around. With no one watching and the city mostly asleep or oblivious to where I was, I could sneak around wherever I wanted and do as I wished.

Though when I fond Katarou breaking into a certain shop containing many rare artifacts. When I spotted him I was still in eagle's form soaring above the streets, I smiled inwardly and transform mid-flight to surprise him from the air.

As he exited the upper levels onto the roof I placed a well-aimed kick to his face forcing him backward. It was then that I saw what exactly he had stolen, a golden staff with red crystals encrusted near the ends of it.

Thinking to myself how much it looked like my ring I continued my attacks with a series of quick strikes around his torso, however, he was faster than I expected as he deflected all my blows.

"Impressive, you show promise," He said as he lunged rapidly at me with his once again newly acquired staff, I intern morphed into a snake and wrapped myself around it while I tried to launch myself onto Katarou himself.

Seeing this he proceeded to pull me off his staff and throw me away. Up here on the rooftops of Chinatown, I wouldn't be able to use many of my heavier forms so I would have to rely on more hand to hand combat.

We both charged each other again, this time I went low aiming for his legs, but he easily sidestepped and as I got up he landed a blow on my chest.

Forced back I suddenly realized that I was breathing heavily, this shouldn't be hard at all I had taken on opponents with actual superpowers.

"I tire of this game," He said suddenly "I hoped for the leader, but you have promise as well."

Pulling out a small sphere from his outfit he held it in his hand for a moment "If you wish to know how I am so skilled, seek out the one True Master." With that, he threw down the sphere causing a cloud of smoke to rise from his feet.

Instead of rushing forward I continued on, there was no point to chasing him, I knew exactly where he would go

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Look I'm going to have to leave for a few days Malachor." I said as I packed a bag for the trip on the table.

He stood there, his paper body rippling slightly.

"You said that before we finished the doppelganger lesson, how many times are you going to run off like this?" he said.

Even though I knew he was evil I almost felt myself feeling bad for him, keyword almost. For some reason he was still teaching me, some things I simply wouldn't have been able to learn in my past life.

I turned around, the packing complete, "You see this," I said rubbing my index and thumb together, "that's the world's smallest violin playing the saddest song ever, just for you pal."

"I'm concerned, the next few lessons are important if you want me to escape the book and continue teaching you." He said.

I leaned against the table, I couldn't even begin to fathom how enraged he was going to be when he was still sealed in that book.

"Well, let's say I can't get you out, what happens then?" I asked sounding curious.

He stroked his chin, I couldn't even tell if he was able to feel, but I really didn't care, one less thing that he deserved.

"Perhaps the Book of Eternity, it has all the knowledge you would need, but you won't get it, though, that would be impossible."

"But where is it?" I pressed again, this was perfect if I could acquire it I wouldn't need him anymore.

He smiled "The book was written by Merlin, it is said his father took it away out of fear that humanity would use its' power against him, you know who Merlin's father was?."

"The devil," I said without a second thought. Then it hit me "Trigon, Trigon has it." I said blankly.

He grinned and nodded.

I quickly gathered my stuff and took off, not wanting to delve into what-ifs sany longer.

"Good luck" I heard from behind me as I left the pocket dimension.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin hadn't complained about my sudden departure, I made it sound more like family matters anyways. It was something that he wasn't going to question, after all, family was something that was a touchy subject for him.

It took a two days of flying, and another for narrowing down the exact location, but I eventually found the mountain.

As I soared towards it I couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement, something I hadn't felt in a long time.

This would be good for me, a nice release and a place where I could rid my skills of the accumulated rust of not using them in real combat for so long.

When I landed at the beginning to the path I spotted the old woman Nightwing had told me about her tending to a field next to a giant statue of a warrior. I estimated that I was somewhere in Asia, due to the population's ethnicity, but then again, I couldn't be sure.

Not wanting to gain unwanted attraction, (apart from being green) I landed a bit away and walked on foot towards the statue. I examined the craftsmanship, the stone it was sculpted from was worn down from time, but at the same time, it was remarkable that it was still in this good of shape.

"Do you admire such warriors?" The old woman asked, looking up from her plants.

I looked at her, she was small, smaller than I had imagined, she wore a blue cloak and a tiny top hat. Her hair was gray from her age but she had it in two pigtails and in her hands was an old walking staff,

"Actually, I'm looking for the True Master, I heard they are the greatest warrior on the planet," I said calmly.

She walked towards me, her staff tapping the ground at regular intervals. "My name is Chu-Hui, I know of this True Master and I will show you the way to him, but on one condition…"

She pulled out a traditional white training uniform "You may not take anything with you, only yourself."

I nodded and started to change into my new outfit, I didn't have any problem changing, I had done worse things in public.

Handing her my small pack she gave a glance to my right hand. Looking down I saw the ring still on it and looked back at her. "The ring…" she said.

I shook my head "No," I said in defiance.

She tilted her head, "You cannot ascend with it, or is so important you would give up the chance to meet the True Master."

I frowned, this was a waste of my time then. "You can have your clothes back," I said while I began to undress, but she stopped me midway.

"Tell me, child, why is it worth more to you than the value you could sell it for?"

I looked at her, "This has been with me for a long time, and I don't think you could comprehend just how important it is to me."

"How important? " She asked, "Would you give anything to save it, would you kill for it?"

...

"Yes"

…

She nodded slowly and turned. For a moment I didn't follow her, but eventually she beckoned me to follow.

Leading me to an archway her small frame turned and looked up at me.

"You will be tested, great men have tried to ascend to the peak of this mountain and have failed." She said. "And you must do it before nightfall."

I simply nodded and took off down the path in a jog.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

When I approached the first task I went over in my head everything that Robin had told me about the tasks. The first would be a test of strength. I wouldn't be able to shift, but from what Robin told me the Bear was massive, which made him top heavy.

As I reached the dock I saw his silhouette, his impressive figure prepared to scare off anyone who wasn't fully committed to reaching the peak. I cracked my knuckles this would be fun, letting loose, even if it wasn't with the rest of my gear.

"Hello little one," he said in a deep commanding voice, "I see you have stumbled down the wrong path."

I said nothing and before he could say anything else I launched myself at him, a bare foot hitting his jaw.

He clutched his chin with his massive paw and stumbled back, while I landed on the wooden boards.

He once again spoke up "I see that you have come down this path willingly, I will give you…." However, he didn't get to finish his sentence as a fist slammed into his nose.

If there was one thing I learned over the years it was using an opponent's weakness against them relentlessly and his seemed to be talking.

He reared his head back, blood gushed from his nose while I circled around him and kicked in the back of one of his knees.

Falling to the floor he growled and slammed both of his fists into the deck boards. A shockwave shot out from the epicenter and I knocked back.

Landing upright I shook myself off and cursed at myself for being careless, in my old life I probably would have been killed. Cautiously I watched as the bear once again began to pick itself up.

Dashing forwards I slammed by fist into the kneecap of the same knee and after a slight crunch was heard the bear fell to the ground yelling in pain.

Tugging upward on one of his arms and placing a foot on his neck I gave a very clear message.

"Very serious," He said laughing to himself "you are quite ruthless, you may proceed, perhaps this mountain isn't the _real_ challenge for you."

Suddenly a bridge shot up out of the water, dropping the arm I jogged off up the mountain once more. The bear collecting himself behind me.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

There was something about running without boots.

Perhaps it was the freedom of the appendage to work as it was intended, the bare skin to make contact with the ground and propel a person forward.

Nowadays the human race wore shoes which made their feet susceptible to cuts, scrapes, and pain when walking over hard stone.

I, on the other hand, wasn't a regular human, and while it was quite painful and I was leaving a path of bloody footprints, it was the equivalent of a pin prick to some of the things I had gone through.

It seemed like I had only left the bear when I stumbled upon the old woman again, this time she was carrying two water buckets on a pole which was draped across her back.

I was coming up behind her, and remembering Robin's tale I picked them up off her without her saying a word.

She turned around surprised or at least acted it. "No one has ever taken those from me."

I shrugged and pushed on at her own pace.

"You're a curious one, something's different about you."

I just shrugged and continued on, that cave should be around here somewhere.

"You are a great warrior, aren't you?

That question I hadn't expected and caused me to almost stop in my tracks.

"What makes you think that?"

She didn't answer the question, "Here is your next stop." she said pointing towards a cave.

I nodded and gave the water back to her gently before walking off towards the darkness of the cave. The woman was definitely as strange as in Robin's stories.

 **Personally, I messed this chapter up, at least in some areas, but never mind that, the next one is probably one of my favorites so far and mention of Trigon, hmm. The Book of Eternity is actually a real thing in DC, really was written by Merlin, but I don't know if it's in canon anymore, doesn't really matter here! Oh yea and 30** **th** **chapter everyone!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Yes, though sweet 50** **th** **doesn't really slip off the tongue, as for fucking with people's minds, well… by the end of this story, you'll either hate me or love me.**

 **Beakers47- Well thanks, man, that means a lot.**

 **Adrisane- I mean, was Robin qualified either? Is anyone there really qualified to trudge through hell? It's like Raven's the only one with actu…. Oh yea, right.**

 **Well, leave a review, read the story, do as you wish, we'll be back here next week unless Trigon comes to earth, then we're all screwed.**

 **Until next time.**


	31. Chapter 31: Fighting Instinct

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 31: Fighting Instinct

The cave seemed to go one for miles, the darkness slowly washing out the light.

I was quickly wrapped in the darkness until I came upon a singled solitary candle upon a stalagmite.

"One doesss not enter thisss cave lightly young one." A voice rang out from the darkness.

I looked around waiting for my attacker, but he remained in the shadows.

"Do you wisssh to challenge me?"

Suddenly a cloaked figure slithered up behind the candle. His cloak was dark and muddied with obvious tears from years of abuse.

"A ssssilent one, I alwaysss liked them, ssso letsss sssee if you can bessst me."

With that, he shed his cloak, which fell away like a natural snakeskin and with a flick of his tail the candle was blown out.

I instantly went into a fighting stance and resisted the instinct to change into something that would be able to see in the dark.

Suddenly I felt a mass slam into my back, forcing me to crash into a wall.

"You rely on sssight too much, you mussst see pssast what you eyesss can ssse."

I smirked as I picked myself up, I could do that. When I was once again on my feet I took a fighting stance again,

Concentrating on the air, I felt it flow across my skin, blowing against the hairs on my neck.

Suddenly what felt like a black of air came from behind me, sliding out of the way I dodged the attack, a low hissing noise was heard as my attacker passed me.

Again I waited, this time I heard the contact between the ground and another object, the rhythmic pattern matching the slithering of a snake.

I readied myself, bracing with my right foot I waited for the strike,

It felt like every second stretching into an hour, but soon enough I heard my opponent launch from the ground.

The air informed me of where the strike was coming and wit that I spun, as its' teeth cut through the loose fabric of my uniform.

Turning back I caught it by the tail and slammed it to the ground.

A light chuckle was heard in the darkness.

"Yesss, good, you may procccceed."

With that, a rock rolled out from one of the walls flooding the cavern with light. It stung at my eyes as they were adjusted to the darkness, but I walked out towards the next path, undaunted.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Strolling along a pathway between overgrown brush I tried pushing towards my next trail, regardless the brush and stray branches took their toll on my once clean uniform which was now dirtied and full of tears.

Finally, I would meet the monkey, it was a shame that I couldn't shift and fight him as a monkey myself, it would have been amusing to see which one of us was more skilled.

Slowly by surely I made my way through the path and reached the final trial. A dense layer of fog rolled across a field of bamboo, I for one always felt better when I could see the bottom of a pit, typically bottomless pits were not reassuring.

"Ah, so you have made it this far." A voice said to my left.

Turning I saw the monkey, his chest plate hung loosely from his chest and he was seated in a small tree eating an apple.

"Not many make it nowadays, in fact, you're the first in a long time." He said with a smile.

I crossed my arms, obviously unpleased that he would be sitting and relaxing when we were supposed to fight.

"Hmm, a serious one, and the silent type, I wouldn't think that of you at first glance, I would place you in…" he said stroking his chin "Ah, yes rambunctious, lively, perhaps comical."

"So you're not going to take me seriously?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

Laughing he took another bite of his apple "Look, he talks, finally, as a matter of fact, I was going to take you even more seriously, men of power project what they want others to see, if you wanted me to see you as an equal you would have instantly asked to fight or remained silent, but now you initiated the conversation.

I groaned "Could we please begin." I asked, I really did not want to talk.

Finishing his fruit he stood up on his branch "Of course, of course, wouldn't want you to get comfortable," With that he launched himself out into the field of bamboo, instantly the fog began to clear and the entire field was revealed.

"To beat me it will take more than raw strength." He said with a smile and took a fighting stance.

I smirked and walked out onto the field, prepared to fight,

To my alarm as soon as I stopped the monkey dashed towards me. Taken by surprise I braced myself as a heavy blow from a foot landed again me.

Almost knocked back I lashed out throwing all sorts of strikes his way, all of them failing to reach their target.

"Do not let blind anger guide your judgment," He taunted with an amusement in his voice.

"Who said I was angry?" With that I lunged forward, mindful of having something to land on, I came in close and swiped at his midsection with my foot.

Jumping he landed farther away from me, balancing on a single pole.

Bending my bamboo backward I released it and used the speed to rapidly launch myself to him I tried a quick strike at him, but could not find any footing. Grabbing onto him, we both tumbled down into the fog.

Quickly I reached out to the nearest bamboo trying to grab onto it.

We both continued to fall down as I was able to grasp it, along with pressing my feet against two more with my second arm clinging to the monkey.

We began to slow down, but the skin on my feet and hand began to tear at the immense friction and heat placed on them.

Eventually, we came to a stop surrounded by fog on all sides. I ignored the pain shooting through my appendages and threw the monkey to another pole.

He grasped it and I pulled myself to another and began to climb up.

Pausing he followed but couldn't keep his silence, "You would risk everything for a finishing blow?"

I remained silent as we both accented in the fog.

"Your silence tells me more than works young one."

I gritted my teeth "There's no victory without sacrifice, you do what you have to, and pray you forgive yourself afterward."

It was silent before we reached the top, dusk was falling and I once again went into a fighting stance, the pain in my hands and feet gone from healing.

The monkey, however, did not prepare for a fight. "You have proven yourself, and may go."

As I turned and left I could barely hear his whispered words.

"Go forgive yourself."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Night closed in as I finally reached the peak, or at least the steps of the house on the peak.

I was curious if Katarou would show up and try to trick the old woman, I would fight him, but I was also tired. Regardless of physical training a days worth of flying, and fighting three guardians was taking its' toll.

Without warning, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I shot into the air. A golden staff embedded itself in the stone below. That answered my questions.

I quickly landed and balanced on the staff, the force causing it to bend slightly Looking for my opponent Katarou stood near the edge of the cliff with the sun behind him, poised to travel up the stairs.

"Let me guess, you made it up the mountain after I weakened the guardians."

Cracking his neck Katarou rolled his shoulders "Why yes my green friend, while you are not Robin you still managed to make it this far, and for that, I am grateful and surprised."

"I'm usually good at doing that," I growled as I launched myself at him.

His leg shot out for a quick end to the attack, but I latched on a twisted. As we rolled to the ground I rolled to bring my own foot to connect with his face.

Landing in a cloud of dirt he quickly shook me off as we pulled apart. Both of us landing on all fours and staring each other in the eyes.

We both charged each other at breakneck speed. He was the first to throw a swift strike to my side which I deflected and instead brought a nasty blow to his gut.

A spray of spit met my face, but I didn't care as he was already trying to recover. Not wanting to lose the advantage I had I grabbed onto his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Yield," I said to him, but instead of replying he broke free with sheer strength.

Running over the golden staff, he pulled it out of the stone, the steps being irreversibly cracked.

"I must train with the True Master!" He shouted as he charged me.

A quick swipe to my chest forced me to bend backward, off balance he brought his foot into my side.

Hearing a slight crack I cursed as I rolled and fell to my knees with one hand on the ground and one clutched to my ribs. While the adrenaline was easing the pain I still hissed in pain.

Suddenly the staff cam around my neck putting me in a chokehold,

"You are not worthy of training with the True Master, only I can!"

I grabbed onto his arms and with all of my strength threw him over my shoulders, the staff clattering to the ground. Crashing down on a rock he hesitated for a moment, that was all I needed.

Placing a bloodied foot up against his neck I watched as he realized what had happened.

"Yield," I said calmly, the blood of my foot starting to smear against his neck.

"No"

"I won't ask again," I growled out, I had enough of him by now.

For a moment he just glared at me then his face fell, taking the silence and action as confirmation I released the pressure of my foot and began to turn away.

Suddenly I felt it, the shift of the wind, the slight cracking of stone. Instantly my ring glowed with a dark energy. Latching onto the golden staff nearby the dark energy launched it at me, and as I caught it I abruptly twisted to introduce the staff to Kataru's face with extreme force.

The man was instantly knocked to the ground and out cold, a large red mark residing on his face.

A slow clapping could be heard from somewhere, turning I saw her, the old woman.

"Most impressive," she said "it is not easy to pass all three guardians and fight with such vigor"

Throwing down the staff I walked towards her "The same could be said for an old woman who climbs a mountain in the same time, but then again, she could just be the True Master."

Nodding she walked past me to Kataru's limb body.

"He could not pass all the guardians the first time he tried to climb this mountain, so he brought you here, to defeat them for him, such dishonor."

I crossed my arms, all of this was old news.

"Then again," my interest was suddenly renewed "so is bringing a weapon onto the mountain, hmm?" her gaze turning and meeting my hand.

Uncrossing my arms and twisting it I glared "I didn't use it at all." I said defensively

"True, but for such a dark object you seem to have more attachment to it, I have a feeling it's much more than some weapon, correct."

I didn't say anything in response and she smiled to herself.

"I watched as you passed every challenge, as you ascended the mountain and I am sorry to say I cannot train you."

Instantly outrage coursed through me "And why the hell not!"

She didn't seem fazed at all, instead, she calmly approached me, "Your fight with the bear was utterly brutal, you used his personality against him, his own weapon to degrade delusional warriors, instead you used it to distract him.

The snake, you knew exactly what to do, and you finished him with extreme efficiency, perhaps it was your own physical abilities, or perhaps someone trained you in my ways, but the monkey was what startled me the most.

You spoke with him, actually communicated, then you finished him, even with the knowledge you would fall into the abyss, I saw you analyze the jump beforehand, you know you would fall but you did it anyways.

Perhaps the monkey was more like you,"

I glared, she crossing the line.

"Perhaps he reminded you of yourself."

"If you can't train me, you don't have to tell me why, I'll be leaving.

But before I could turn she continued.

"The eyes are the window into the soul, and I have seen many like yours, warriors who have fought for years and returned a different man. You'res are the same, and I can tell you have endured many hardships, I would rather not see you become consumed by your pain and hatred."

"And what do you know about my pain?" I countered "You know nothing about me."

Leaning on her walking stick she chuckled "No, but I can tell things about you just from you figure, the way you hold yourself."

I shook my head "Could you just give me my clothes and have me leave."

Nodding she pulled out my uniform from earlier from a pack on her back "Just know young warrior that I am trying to help you, you do not need me for physical training, but for your soul."

I snorted and turned away "What's left of it?"

As I began down the mountain I would never be able to hear her words

"More than you realize, young warrior, more than you realize."

 **Another successful chapter, personal I loved writing this and it's extra long for you guys. The next few week we got some great chapters coming like I said season 4 is my favorite.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Coconut God? Hmm… Coconut King, or Cing if you will.**

 **Drannakka- Thank you, that's good to know, but lets just keep it simple for the sake of the story, besides doesn't Merlin being a son of Trigon sound awesome, don't worry I got some backstory for this ready.**

 **Beakers47- Why thank you, now BB has his real challenges ahead.**

 **Nothing out of the ordinary this week, just an extra long chapter for your enjoyment, so be good, leave a review and next week you will receive some nice tasty chapters in the following weeks.**

 **Until next time.**


	32. Chapter 32: Hellraiser

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 32: Hellraiser

"I can't believe that you would want to learn how to steal life forces in between dimensions," Malchior whined as he closed a small book causing a large amount of dust to rising into the air.

"There's literally no point, anyone you would want to do that to would move way too fast, obviously the more powerful the longer the transfer takes, but still, unless you're going to steal your own soul this was a waste of time. However, it lets us move onto the next thing."

Malicor started towards a multitude of materials on a shelf behind him. I looked at all the stars in the realm, it was enjoyable, thinking about the different places I could possibly go. I was no Raven, but I bet I could travel to parallel dimensions with proper materials.

Suddenly I was snapped out of my thoughts from Malicor.

"And the cloak you requested, seriously why do you need to be concealed that much, it was ridiculous to make."

"And now onto this.."

"So this is what you'll need." He said laying out multiple things in front of me.

"And what exactly is it we're doing?" I asked crossing my arms.

I could almost see him smiling, even if he didn't have a mouth "Today you're going to break me out of this pri, er book."

I smiled, how exactly was I going to put this to him. "Yea, so, first I need some information."

Raising an eyebrow he asked, "What exactly do you need."

Rubbing my chin I smirked "This may sound just a little out there, but, how to put this... exactly how do I contact Trigon,"

For a moment we just stood there, looking at each other, until the sound of laughter rung in my ears.

For a moment I watched as he buckled over laughing, complete an utter amusement at my statement, "Oh that's a good one, Beast Boy 'how do I contact Trigon?' Ha!"

Stratenting up he recomposed himself "Oh if I had lungs I would have suffocated, now where were we..." He said while reaching down to touch him materials

Before he could ever reach men I slammed into him and pinned him to the floor.

"Do I look like I'm kidding Malachor?" I asked in a serious tone.

He just stared at me for a moment "Oh my god, you've gone insane!" he said.

I chuckled a bit "Trust me, that happened a long time ago, now..." I said while reaching into a pocket "You're going to tell me how I can contact him, or…" I said while pulling out a silver rectangular object, flicking open the top and pressing my thumb down on the igniter a small flame was generated.

"let's just say I can do some interesting things with fire."

"You're crazy…" He said.

I shrugged and grabbed one of his paper hands. For a few moments he shook, pleaded, but soon I was placing his fingertips on the top of the flame. Each finger's paper grew dark, like the corruption of a soul, but eventually, they all were in flames.

Sounds of agony could be heard from my former teacher as he thrashed trying to put the fire out, but I had him secured to the floor.

"Alright! Alright, I'll tell you!"

With that I crushed his hand with my own, starving the flame of its precious oxygen and causing it to sputter out.

"Now, the way!"

Taking in a few labored, but unnecessary breaths, Malchior began to run around the room and gather a collection of materials. Pulling a book from one of the cases I installed he flipped open to the right page.

"There," He said pointing to a certain paragraph, "you'll only get communication, the link between him and our world was sealed, it will probably be in the form of an illusion."

I nodded and looked down at the simple ritual.

"Now what about me, we had a deal, I teach you and you would set me free."

With my back turned to him I smiled, revenge was sweet "I did promise that, but you probably should have taken something else than my word.

My ring began to glow as a whirlwind of paper began to form around his prone body.

"What are you doing!" he roared as he tried to get up to strike me, but his body disintegrated to pages before he could.

Turning I kneeled down and picked up the old familiar book with white markings on it.

"I would have set you free if you had actually been wholesome, instead you switch the names in the book and try to use me to get back into the world.

"That's…. that's not true!"

I smiled, "It's very true, now if you'll excuse me." I said while closing the book and shelving it.

Dawning the cloak provided I set up the ritual. Hopefully, it would be the last thing I needed from Malchior, it was strong enough to hide thoughts from even deity level beings, I was also hoping that since it wouldn't be a physical meeting that it would help as well. A large pentagram of some grainy mystical substance and candles lit were all I needed.

A small incantation was needed which I mumbled and soon enough red light shot out from the outer ring of the circle.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," I said as I got up and walked into the light.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Fire consumed all in this land if you could call a flaming, lava infested wasteland anything of the sort.

For a moment I thought I was reliving a memory, but that illusion was shattered when I saw the giant demon in front of me, his royal unholy ass seated on a throne made of stone and bone.

" **You have called for me stranger, your pathetic voice barely reached my ears, but I have heard, you wish to discuss with me something, I am awaiting your proposition."**

I smiled underneath my hood, the fact that he called me a stranger was a testament to how powerful this cloak would actually be.

"I only offer information, information that would help you on your quest."

" **And exactly what information would that be?"** He asked, his annoyance penetrating through is rational words.

"Information that would lead to the downfall of earth," I said.

" **Intriguing, I already have what I need for such a conquest, why should I listen to a stranger's words?"** He asked.

"Because _this_ stranger knows how to have your daughter compliant without…. unnecessary conflict. I know you have been planning to destroy Azarath."

Trigon was not known for being surprised, in fact, I would be willing to bet that only happens to him a few times in his entire existence, but to be the cause if such emotion, it made me feel like that was all I needed to achieve in life.

" **And exactly** _**HOW**_ **would a simple Mortal be in possession of such information."**

Smirking, I stood a little straighter. "It doesn't matter how I know, but I need your word that I shall be rewarded with my own desire if I tell you how it is you will have Raven help you."

Crossing his arms and not seeing any other choice he nodded " **The word of Trigon is not to be taken lightly as long as the bargain is fulfilled to its fullest, I accept your terms, but only if the information is adequate**."

Smiled I nodded "The key to obtaining raven is NOT destroying Azartha as you plan, but instead using it against her, she must realize that you will come to Earth eventually, but if you were to have Azarath as a bargaining chip it would be much more beneficial to you."

" **And how do you know this will work**?"

I smiled "Because I know her, the sentimental value to the place she grew up, even if she hated it is is still home to her, as her mother resides there if I am correct you prevent her from leaving?."

Nodding the demon thought to himself for a moment before closing his eyes, " **And you're desire**?"

"The Book of Eternity."

Growing Trigon slowly nodded " **Your price is high, however,** i **t is worthy information, your world will burn soon enough, but remember, if this were to fail, know you will be hunted,"** He hesitated for a moment" **but I am curious as you are a resider of earth, why do you wish to see it destroyed**?"

I never answered that question, instead, I met it with silence and exited the illusion.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Where am I?

 _Where were you?_

The voices.

 _It was you!_

Not now.

 _You killed us!_

 _You left us!_

No.

 _Don't lie to yourself, it's your fault._

Wake up, wake up!

 _This doesn't change anything._

C'mon, wake up.

 _We'll be here when you get back._

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Groggy I got up, I had been laying on my back and my entire body felt terrible. Throwing off my cloak and blowing out the candles I rolled by back, hearing the reassuring cracking sounds I swiftly left and went back into my bedroom.

No sooner than I arrived the Klaxton alarm went off, groaning I ran out towards the common room.

The rest of the team was there already and at my arrival, some rolled their eyes.

"Congratulations Beast Boy, still can't get out of bed fast enough," Raven said in a monotone voice.

I waved my hand dismissively and went up to Robin who was furiously typing into the terminal.

"So what's the situation this time?" I asked

For a moment Robin didn't say anything he kept typing, but eventually he did turn to face me.

"Break-in at a local power plant could be nothing, but I think we should check it out.

I nodded and prepared myself for what was to come.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Getting there in a timely matter thanks to Raven, we all entered through the roof. A skylight serving as our point of access.

Silently we all spread out through the catwalks, the giant pistons and gears moving in perfect synchronized fashion like the team weaving through them.

We descended to the next level and the next until we reached the ground floor and reconverged.

"Man, there's nobody here, could it be a faulty sensor?" Cyborg asked.

For a moment Robin thought about it, the possibility of all this being a false alarm, but an oily slick voice brought us all out of our ponderings.

"Oh Titans, have you grown rusty since my absence?"

Each of us turned to see him, standing on the middle catwalk, casually resting on the railing.

"You're dead!" Raven called out "I saw it myself!"

Straitening up Slade chuckled "I was called into service by someone,"

As he finished a bright red marking appeared on his forehead, the mark of Scath.

I looked over, Raven did her best to keep her terror and surprise Gidden, but I could see what others couldn't, the slight shifting of weight, the testing of her arms, to me she might as well have been shaking in fear.

"Perhaps it's time to get you all back into shape."

"TITANS GO!" Robin shouted, but before we could even get close blasts of fire came shooting towards us.

Turning into a hawk I dodged the income fire, everyone got out of the way except for Starfire, who tried to take the brunt of it, and was promptly thrown back into one of the pistons crushing it.

Raven grabbed the broken pieces with dark energy and threw them like spears at Slade.

Slade could have easily incinerated them, but instead, he chose to dive off the catwalk and down to the ground level.

Slamming down into the ground a shockwave of flames spread out from his initial point of contact.

Raven and I were already out of the blast zone as we were flying, Robin and Cyborg were not so lucky.

Robin was able to grapple onto nearby machinery to get out of the way, but Cyborg had no place to go and was engulfed in the flames.

Meanwhile both Raven and I swooped down towards Slade. Morphing into a pterodactyl I caught him by surprise as he straightened from his landing.

Grabbing him I took him upwards towards the ceiling then released him. Watching as he fell I saw Raven blast dark energy towards him, sending him towards on of the many pistons in the building.

I rushed forward as it crumbled and fell towards the ground floor. Raven had since gotten clear while I tried tp grab Robin who was in the path of the falling debris.

It wasn't even a second after I had gotten Robin clear of the debris that blast of fire came from out of the smoke which struck us both. As we tumbled downwards Robin's head hit on one of the guard rails for one of the many catwalks. Seemingly unconscious he didn't even brace himself when he hit the ground.

I, on the other hand, could and in my haste hadn't helped Robin. Looking up I saw Slade and Raven, the former seemingly talking to her with his hand gripped on her wrist.

Managing to get free Raven kicked Slade off the area they were situated accompanied with a loud "NO!"

Suddenly I felt it, the slow cooling of the room, I shivered at the drop in temperature, then I realized something, the flames, the falling debris, everything was frozen.

You'd think she would have learned to control such an amazing power by now, but instead, she let it run wild.

Raven had frozen time, but that didn't mean she wasn't in danger.

 ***Evil Laughter* I'm having too much fun with this.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Well, how long was he with Nightwing in the future, Hmm?**

 **Beakers47- Where was it taking you?**

 **Not much to say, love it hate it, shout it out in the comments.**

 **Until next time.**


	33. Chapter 33: Playing With Fire

**Final Forget Politics, Read Fanfiction Edition**

 **Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

Chapter 33: Playing with Fire

My mind instantly wondered why I wasn't frozen, from what I remembered Robin was unfrozen by Raven and they fought Slade together.

Then as I ran my hand over my ring it became obvious.

I watched as Slade levitated back up towards Raven's level, his red energy engulfing him

With his back facing me he looked around at the machinery, all having been frozen.

"You may be able to stop time, birthday Girl, but you can't stop me."

To put it crudely, she looked like a deer in headlights. Her entire stance was rigid she gave off an aura of fear and panic.

"You can't stop any of it really, I have to say Raven when I found out the truth I was very impressed," He said as he casually walked towards her.

Pushing a few pieces of debris that had been frozen in the air aside, he continued to walk forward, while Raven cautiously walked backward.

"All this time I had no idea… the _power_ lurking inside you, the glorious destiny that awaits" he said while stroking his chin "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

While he was conversing with her I shifted into a fly, doing my best to be undetected I flew straight up to them and placed myself on a ledge next to where they were standing.

Slade continued his monologue "But honestly did you think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away?"

By this point Raven had taken off, further down the catwalk, trying in vain to get away from the unstoppable force that was Slade at this point.

"Today is the day it begins, you've known this all your life, "

Raven continued running until a wall of flame shot out from beneath the catwalk incinerating it in front of her, cutting off her escape. Perhaps she knew her escape was impossible and resigned herself to her fate was why she didn't take off into the air.

Now Slade was right behind her, his head lowered right next to her ear, while Raven stood tense and with her eyes closed.

"It is going to happen and no matter what you wish no matter where you go no matter now you squirm, there is nothing you can do to…."

He never got to finish as a kangaroo slammed right into his face throwing him off the catwalk.

Shifting back to normal I walked in front of Raven, "C'mon we gotta move."

For a moment she didn't say anything, just staring blankly at me

"RAVEN!" I shouted while I grabbed her shoulders trying to get her to respond.

She, in turn, wrapped us in her dark energy and took us out of the powerplant.

The cold nipped at me as we traveled to the pavement outside.

Looking around I saw crowds of people frozen, birds suspended in air, and cars that were once speeding now all frozen in place.

"Woah, Raven since when could you stop time?" I asked in pretend amazement, apparently, that must have struck the wrong cord.

"Slade has returned from the dead, can fly, had pyrokinesis, and superhuman strength AND YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW I CAN STOP TIME!" She yelled in my face.

I, however, didn't even flinch as I whipped a bit of saliva off my face.

"Yeah, it would be helpful."

Before she could respond a figure slammed down behind her, and fire shot towards us.

She quickly brought up a shield to protect us and I watched as the fire swirled around us both.

Slowly it receded and there Slade stood. "I have a message, and it will be delivered." He said calmly

I looked at Raven, hoping she wouldn't scoff at my proposal.

"You need to go, I'll hold him off," I said

She just looked at me confused, wondering how I would be able to fight Slade, even without his new powers. Instead, I smiled "Don't worry, just get out of here." Saying this I nudged her away and with a worrying glance she took off.

That fact that she didn't say anything took me by surprise, perhaps her fear was driving her. Raven feared very little, the whole 'I don't do fear' attitude, but Trigon was one of the things that brought her terror on regular occasions.

Suddenly it was just Slade and me a reality that all to quickly sank in.

"Now, now Beast Boy, didn't your parents even teach you not to play with fire." He taunted.

For a moment a memory flashed in my mind, the dry African heat, tall trees, a flaming ship, but I quickly forced it back down, not wasting time thinking about it, but it didn't help to quell the anger now raging through me.

Slade raised both his hands and sooner than I expected a column of fire was now shooting towards me.

I quickly rolled out of the way and turned into a cheetah trying to get to him before he could fire off another volley. I held nothing back, instead, I forced myself to go faster, I challenged myself to do the impossible.

So, as Slade fired once again I shifted while at full speed and slide underneath the flame, its' heat searing my face and giving me burns along its right side as it slowly bent down trying to track me.

Reaching Slade as he ended his attack I shot up, landing a solid blow to his chin, then a cluster of quick strikes to his chest which sent him flying backward.

I stood there waiting for him to get up, but instead, his chest convulsed and I slight chuckle pierced the air.

"Well Beast Boy, you've certainly been busy while I was away, or is it something else."

Getting up faster than I had anticipated he shot out his hands

"Dodge this! 

With that a wall of flame hurtled towards me, without even thinking about it I summoned up a black shield to cover me right before it would hit. Even after all this time here, I still held onto my reflexes from the future.

After a few moments, the flames started to subside and before Slade could see I dissolved the shield.

"WHAT!? IMPOSSIBLE!"

I smiled at the shocked criminal, I couldn't think of many times I saw him surprised but when it did happen it was a sight to behold.

Smirking I rolled my neck, hearing the familiar popping I chuckled "You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves."

Without a thought of hesitation, I ran straight towards him, a clandestinely enhanced punch slamming him in the face and causing him to make a nice impression into the pavement.

Picking him up while he was still dazed I propped him up and shifted into a mule, launching him into a building with my kick.

He recovered swiftly, however, and just cracked his knuckles.

"You can't fathom what this is about, you don't realize who I'm with, you can't comprehend the greatness, the power that she possesses!"

Calmly I walked towards him, my stare calm, but ferocious at the same time.

"I know more than you could possibly imagine."

Now we were only yards away from each other

Now we were only feet apart.

"Beast Boy!" I heard, and turned my head, foolishly

That was all the time Slade needed to send a kick right for my chest. It felt as though a train had slammed into my as I was send flying back into the street.

I could tell a few ribs were cracked, and my vision blurred, but I soon felt the sensation of flying and rolling my head I could see.

I shivered slightly, Raven had me in her dark energy and was flying straight towards a small church at the end of one of the roadways.

No caring she slammed the doors open and went straight for the first row.

Gently placing me down I started to take sharp, rapid breaths.

"That Kevlar finally helped." She remarked in a monotone voice as she struggled to remove where my uniform had ben warped and melted by Slade's flaming boot. I was pretty sure I could just make out a footprint on my chest.

"Nah, leave it, I'm pretty sure *cough* I have a collapsed lung, though."

She shook her head and removed her hands from my chest "This is all my fault, I should have never dragged you all into this, I just wanted this day to be over."

Shaking my head, I laid a hand on her shoulder, now she was crouched in front of me, her cloak wrapped around her like she could escape from the work inside it.

"This is what friends are for, we work through this together," I said trying to comfort her, it was never easy for some people to do this for her, but for me, I was a given natural for some reason.

"You don't understand, when I was born there was a prophecy… on the anniversary of my birth…" she stopped for a moment, trying to formulate what to say "nothing good is supposed to happen today, that's why I didn't want a party."

I nodded slowly, "Raven…"

Before I could start the entrance the church doors blew open a river of fire spread through the church.

"RAVEN RUN!" I shouted as I slowly got up to face our old adversary.

Raven didn't hesitate and ran straight for the back entrance. Watching her leave Slade shook his head "Then there was one, do you really want to fight me Beast Boy, in that condition, you can barely stand?" He asked.

I simply narrowed my eyes "If you want to deliver your message, deliver it to me, I'll tell her."

Suddenly Slade tilted his head "Well, well, the shapeshifter had done it again." He said clapping his hands "Tell me, how did you know this time, hmm, how do you know all these things?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said as I shot forwards.

Trying to strike him, I was upset when I met only thin air.

Teleporting bastard.

I ran outside to watch as both he and Raven soared throughout the skies of the city, causing quite a bit of property damage might I add.

Turning into a falcon I shot off after them, trying to also dodge the debris they left behind.

I witnessed Raven throw cars, garbage, even move buildings as she tried to stop her invincible pursuer.

I remarked on what she could do when in a frantic state, I wasn't that surprised since her powers were linked to her emotions.

Then she hesitated, she stopped and looked behind to see if she finally stopped Slade, before he came crashing out of the buildings she crushed him with.

Colliding with her, they both were sent crashing into a nearby tower, a large cloud blocking my view.

When I could see again, Slade had ripped off her cloak and had gripped her by her wrists.

Shifting into a human I dove down, the pain in my chest long forgotten and only a single thought on my mind, save Raven.

Slamming into him as red symbols on her skin began to tear away at her sleeves, her hair began to grow and the world's scenery began to flash and change.

Slade went flying across the roof while I landed in a crouched position.

Moving over to Raven she tried her best to cover the markings on her head, arms, and bare back, she was lucky here leotard wasn't ripped in the center as to expose more markings.

I picked up her cloak before it could be blown away by the wind and proceeded to wrap her in it.

With her eyes watery she looked up to me, "Beast Boy, I…"

"Enough!" I heard Slade shout behind us.

Smiling to her I let her there and turned around, it could and would wait. Slade didn't seem to have much patience left, however.

"Look around you Beast Boy, look at what she is destined to bring about to this world!" He said gesturing to the city below.

I had seen it before, lived it before, besides Jump had been in an arguably worse state in the future but I scanned the streets, the countless stone figures lining them, all of them gathering towards a single group.

I squinted to see only three figures below, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire all being cast in stone and being dragged down by civilians.

I looked back up to Slade, only to see a flicker of movement behind him. It was tall, long arms and legs, but I couldn't make out any distinguishing features at first, then it smiled. The smile cut through the darkness and it was then that I realized who it was, the insane grin giving me all I needed to know.

But it didn't end, he walked out into the light and there stood, him. His red skin working well with the backdrop, and he waved at me, actually waved and as if he were whispering in my ear I heard him talking.

"Such a wonderful place, perfect wouldn't you think, at home with all the other monsters."

Shaking my head, I stood firm, Slade laughed in front of me, seemingly oblivious to the fact someone was behind him.

"This isn't real," I said in defiance, but it only caused him to laugh harder

"Skies will burn, flesh will become stone, seas will boil, the sun will set on your world, the coming of my master is inevitable, there is nothing you can do to stop it."

"Is that so?" I ran straight towards him, with the intent on smashing his zombie head in, but right before I could reach him he vanished.

"Beast Boy!" I heard raven call behind me, I turned to see her gripped by her arms behind her back looking towards me. Her face showed all her emotions at once, fear, panic, anger, everything. Slade bent down and whispered something into her ear, something even I couldn't pick up.

Raven finally panicked completely and yelled. Her black energy expanding rapidly and engulfing the sky in a giant raven. The sky flashed between night and day once again, and all around us, the city returned to normal.

It seemed to drain her completely as she finally entered a state of abjection and relaxed.

I could almost see Slade smiling at his triumph under his mask, "Oh and one last thing, happy birthday:" He said as he threw her behind him, off the roof.

I instantly took off towards the edge, the determination keeping me from striking Slade along the way.

As I dove off the roof I saw her, the cloak had been blown off her, and the symbols on her began to dim and I kept trying to dive faster.

Foot by foot I gained on her before I was arm's length. Latching onto her I finally saw how much altitude we had left, which was not much at all.

Quickly I pulled her against me, I shifted to a pterodactyl and held her close as we descended to the ground slowly.

Landing I shifted back with her in my arms. Looking around I saw where her cloak had landed, luckily it was a mostly abandoned street and any civilians we 'rent paying much attention.

I saw it land a few yards away and picked it up, wrapping Raven in it I smiled, her exhausted form in my arms looked so peaceful, so pure, not someone befitting of the cruel fate that was destined to fall upon them.

She stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open. If she was mad about her position she didn't voice her feelings, whether it be from exhaustion or otherwise she didn't say a word as I finished covering her.

I smiled down to her "C'mon, let's go home,"

 **That was fun, extra-long chapter for you all today, hope it was worth it.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- *Lightbulb***

 **Mochafraptor- well thank you, just remember, reviews are nutritious.**

 **Beakers47- Ah, Days of Future Past style, hmmm, I have my pet peeves with Time Travel Stories that I will discuss one day with all you.**

 **So that's it for today, nothing much today except we made it to season 4 and it's going to be great. Don't forget to leave a review, alternative views are quite nice.**

 **Until Next Time**


	34. Chapter 34: Aftermath

**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

Chapter 34: Aftermath

*Clip*

*Clip*

The sound of the scissors was pleasant to my ears, it helped me slow down, and focus on something new. I was surprised my hands weren't shaking, or at least more than they were.

*Clip*

*Clip*

Thinking back to the incident on the tower I played it over and over again in my mind. Beast Boy was there for everything, he saw _everything_. From my markings to the vision, he saw it all, but that wasn't the alarming, borderline disturbing part.

No, what concerned me the most was that he showed very little reaction to those things. Knowing Beast Boy I bet he was out in the common room reciting the story to the rest of the team to get it all out of his system.

Telling them how brave he was, how selfless he fought and how he singlehandedly took down Slade and they were simply waiting for me to show up for an accurate story.

They would believe me over him any day, the prankster, the goof.

 _Since when could he fight like that anyways_?

I had to admit that even I was impressed with how well he fought Slade, he actually went toe to toe with him and survived to tell the tale.

Behind me, my door opened with a pneumatic swish and a few footsteps could be heard walking into the room.

"Did you come here for the real story Robin?" I asked looking over, imagine my surprise when I saw a short green shapeshifter standing here.

"Wrong Boy Wonder." He said softly with a small smile.

I rolled my eyes as I set down the scissors, I examined my hair in its entirety and when I was satisfied that it was acceptable I turned around fully to face him.

"I don't need to talk to a child at the moment, there's the door, so if you'll excuse me I'll need to start prepping to debrief the team of what happened out there."

He crossed his arms the soft smile traded for a shallow frown "Well let's talk like adults then Raven, and for your information I already informed the team of what happened."

Even though I was sure it had happened my heart still fell to my stomach from my chest. The entire team knew, what would they do now? Would they kick me out? Banish me to save their world?

"Just cause I told them a story doesn't mean it's the right story." He said calmly.

My knees began to feel weak, and my stance shifted. I eventually resigned myself to my fate and sat down on my bed.

He hadn't told them the truth "Why?"

He didn't answer, instead, he calmly walked over to the bed and sat next to me, "Because you wouldn't want me to."

I just glared at him "Since when did you care about what I want?"

He chuckled to himself, instead of looking at me he looked at his hands in his lap. "It may not seem like the truth Raven, but I care about all of you, Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, you, but sometimes I can't help everyone, I can only make it easier for them to help themselves."

For a moment, I didn't say anything, since when was Beast Boy this profound? In that moment, I knew I was looking at a side of Beast Boy that few had ever seen, and suddenly I felt more inclined to talk with him than ever.

Suddenly I noticed him pull something up his index finger from the inside of his glove. He began to twist what I now realized was a ring, it was a simple golden band but it had small red crystals embedded in it. I tried not to look at it too much, but how could I have not noticed it in all the time I knew him? Perhaps it was handed down to him or he recently acquired it, but see as it really didn't mean anything I didn't ask, it wasn't my business.

Silently I tried to feel his emotions, even though I was an empath I really wasn't comfortable trying to feel my friends emotions, sometimes, like in the city, it was too hard not to feel, but here and now as an exception.

Like invisible tendrils, I reached out to him, closer and closer, until… nothing. Confusion hit me like a brick wall, there was nothing there, no emotion, no happiness, no sadness, no relief, no anger, nothing.

He stiffened, he had actually felt me, I was astounded, I never thought anyone would actually be able to feel my presence when I did that.

"Are you all right?" he asked, shaking off the feeling. "Physically I mean."

I rubbed one of my arms fleetingly like I was still trying to wipe away the bright red markings. "Yea, just about."

He ran his eyes down me if he hadn't just seen me with most of my leotard ripped off I would have backhanded him and sent him flying out of the Tower. It seemed like he was actually looking for any injuries, after a few moments he seemed satisfied and looked back up to my face.

"I'm not going to mention it Raven, it's your burden, but just because I didn't tell them the truth doesn't mean we wouldn't help you through this, they'll find out eventually, and I'm willing to bet you know that."

I shifted uncomfortably as I thought of a way to change the subject "So, what did you tell them?" I inquired.

His blank expression grew into a small smile as he still looked at his hands "I got knocked out in a church and woke up later, but just in time to look for you and keep you from slamming into the concrete, or at least that's the short version."

"You're acting like you don't care, do you even realize _what_ I am? Do you even know what I'm supposed to do?" I asked him, "When you look at me what do you see?"

He finally looked up from his lap, his eyes full of life, but at the same time I couldn't help but notice that they seemed older and wiser than I had ever imagined, they looked tired and worn from some unforeseen conflict. Which was certainly completely fictional, this was Beast Boy, after all right?

"I know you think that we'll just cast you aside, you're worried that if they found out _you_ are then we'll try to send you away to spare the world and as for when I look at you…"

For a moment, my heart skipped a beat, what was it I wondered. Too many emotions were already running through me that it was hard to tell which one it was, I forced it down though like everything else and decided to inquire about it later.

"I see an extraordinary young woman, a human with that can do or be whatever she wants, she's selfless, courageous, and would do anything to help her friends…"

He got up and offered his hand for me to take. Cautiously I took it and instantly he started dragging me through the halls.

"Someone who is strong, and smart…"

He ran faster and faster but our connection didn't break. We dashed down the halls until we stopped in front of a certain door.

"And while you may have a short temper and tend to be creepy in your room a lot…" He said while slamming his hand on the terminal in the wall beside the door.

That was the Beast Boy I knew.

"You're not alone Raven, always remember that."

With that, he shoved me into the common room and to my shock, I was greeted with cheers from the team.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I looked over to Beast Boy who walked up beside me. "Just because you don't like your birthday doesn't me we don't, we're happy you were born Raven, cause we'd never meet anyone like you."

For a moment, I took it all in and settled my emotions, before replying to all that they had done just for me.

"We're going to need Ice cream"

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I laid down on my bed exhausted. Two hours of having a party was not what I am used to.

Not to mention the knowledge of the end of the world looming over your head. I rubbed my temples just the thought of the future gave me anxiety.

My thoughts shifted to Beast Boy instead, instantly I felt something twist in my gut, it was really getting annoying and I was going to have to talk with my emoclones about that.

Everything I knew about Beast Boy seemed to be wrong, or at the very least warped. He didn't act foolish or crack a joke as we talked and he tried his best to actually help me. He lied to the team, lied to their faces just for me!

Getting up I went to my dresser and picked up my mirror, soon I found myself in Nevermore soon the disorienting feeling of slipping through reality washed over me. However, when I arrived no one was waiting for me.

Looking around I was confused, usually, they instantly came out of the woodwork to talk with me. Taking off from the ground I flew to the one person I would be able to talk to with any sort of logic in this world.

I only stopped flying when I came to a small door in the side of a cliff, it resided on one of the floating islands of rock as to keep the other Emoclones away.

Opening the door, the well-oiled hinges didn't squeak at all, walking into the room I noticed it had grown slightly since the last time I was here, the bookshelves seemed to be slightly higher, which was not a problem as they had an infinite white oblivion to expand into above us.

Suddenly the noise of a book slamming shut caught my attention.

"I was on a really nice part there Raven."

I examined my favorite of my emoclones, Knowledge, her yellow cloak draped across the chair she sat in as he placed her book down and folded her fingers together.

"You know I can't help you."

I frowned as walked forward, an opposite chair resided across from here which I sat down in.

"I think you can."

Sighing she took off her glasses and produced a rag, breathing on them to fog the glass she began to wipe them down, cleaning them to perfection.

"Trigon has Slade as a minion, a very powerful minion, and Beast Boy knows that you're supposed to end the world, or at least that's probably what he thinks."

"Do you think he knows my relation with Trigon?" I asked worriedly.

In turn she just shook her head and placed her glasses back on "I wouldn't bet on it seemed like he was able to tell your purpose, but not your parentage, however did you notice anything about the vision Slade showed us?"

"Other than the fact that the world was destroyed, I couldn't have missed that, could I?" I asked sarcastically.

She frowned "Don't be so crude, it insults me, no I was talking about the stone figures." She said.

"The millions dead?" I asked as my heart fell.

"No, the fact that someone wasn't dead," she replied, "Beast Boy wasn't among the statues while the Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin were, what does that mean to you?" She asked

"I wasn't with the statues so it was probably just that the people witnessing the vision weren't in it." I retorted logically.

She rolled her eyes "You know what will happen once the portal is open, and Slade will most likely be killed by Trigon, but Beast Boy… I have a feeling that he could be our greatest ally or fiercest foe. Trigon has a way of bending people to his will, don't allow him to do that to your friend."

I nodded and got up, I could tell that she was finished, but before I walked out the door I turned around.

"Anything you can tell me about that ring of his?"

She paused for a moment, but then shook her head "I never noticed it before, and you couldn't feel any characteristics of it, I bet its some intimate object, worthless to anyone else."

I nodded before walking out the door.

 **IM BACK! Continuing on our story we have competed the first major story episode for season 4, any suggestions or comments? I want to tweak some things slightly but overall I'm pretty happy about it.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Thanks, man! keeo it up? I had to look that one up in the dictionaru.**

 **Adrisane- Thanks, I'm trying to progress Beast Boy as a character in combat as well, more complex combat etc.**

 **mochafraptor- Thanks man, haven't heard from you for a while, how are you liking the direction of the story?**

 **Beakers47- I to love time travel stories (I guess that's obvious) the problem is that the most interesting always seem to balls it up somewhere along the line. I think I have 5ish different ones in prewritten stages (I have lots of ideas and 'storyboards').**

 **That's it for this week folks, don't forget to leave a review and meet back here same time, same place.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	35. Chapter 35: Transgressions of the Past

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 35: Transgressions of the Past

I walked down the dark alleyways of Jump City, it was close to midnight and the drop in temperature allowed me to see my breath.

We had just gotten Cyborg back from the past. Like last time he wanted to go back, but that was impossible according to Raven.

Coming out onto the main street I felt the beginnings of rain falling on my head. I pulled up the hood of my civis and prepared myself for the torrential downpour that was bound to come.

A familiar restaurant greeted my eyes as it came into view and a small smile crept onto my face. I walked across the road and entered the empty building.

As I walked in its red and white seating caught my eye. Its menu hung dully over the counter. A single bell and register sat on the counter and with a swift movement of my hand a sharp ring went throughout the building.

Quickly a single man walked out of the back, through a single door to the 'kitchen'.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked in an overly polite manner.

A dark smile grew on my face, "Yes, yes you can." I said while hoping over the counter throwing some explosive Birdrangs I took from Robin.

A few minutes later I was driving away on a sleek and shiny new white moped, a bright flame behind me and explosions rocking the former building.

Mega, Meaty Meat was no more.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"A Moped, really?" Red X said as he looked up from one of the many monitors he was in front of.

His 'lair' had expanded at an alarming rate, everything from welders to spare parts for just about anything.

I shrugged as I walked up behind him, "Not exactly going to be chasing criminals in that thing, it's not really built for that, it's more for the satisfaction."

"What satisfaction?"

He turned around fully to face me "Still not uncovering your face?" I asked dismissing the question.

He said nothing as he turned back around and continued typing.

Looking around I noticed a large gem beside his keyboard. I reached over to it picked it up and examined it. The ruby I was looking at was the size of a tangerine.

"When did you pick up this beauty?" I asked as I flipped I around in my hands.

Taking another break from his typing he leaned back in his chair, a loud squeaking noise bouncing around the cave as he did so.

"I picked it off of an armored car stop, got some cash as well," he said calmly "half expected you all to show up, but apparently, you were away or something like that."

Nodding I set the chrisom stone down and reached into my coat pocket. Pulling out a black clasp envelope. Handing them to him he started to open it.

"What's this?" He asked as he was greeted with a few smaller folders inside.

"Those are some people you need to get in bed with," I said with a slight smile.

Opening one of the files I heard him grimace behind his mask. The file in question contained a photo of Cinderblock.

"A shame, I really prefer blondes but I guess this is alright."

A small chuckle escaped my lips as I got up to leave.

"This is gonna cost you." He called right as I hopped on my moped.

"What do you want to know?" I said while I got off and walked back over to him.

"I'm starting to remember, bits and pieces, a childhood of some sorts," he said as he folded his hands together, "but I'm having… um…"

For a moment, he went silent, and stood up, walking over to a worktable he silently went about examining a piece from one of the many projects.

"Well?" I asked, but I received no answer.

Thinking this was a waste of time I turned to leave when he suddenly blurted out.

"Dreams! I'm having… well… nightmares."

Turning back around I nodded.

"I'm in a warehouse, strapped to a chair, and I'm in… pain," he explained "I can get free, but I can't stand, I have to crawl to this door, it's locked, but I'm too weak to do anything,"

He walked over to one of his vehicles, a rather large motorcycle, running his hand along its polished black paint he continued.

"By now I can see a bomb, but I'm too weak to do anything, and when it goes off I'm in complete abjection, my question really is, is it a dream or was I murdered?"

I really didn't want to be the one to talk to him about this, I was hoping that he would just remember one day, but it also meant I couldn't keep him here with the allure of information for much longer.

Taking a deep breath, I began to explain the best I could "You were killed, it was in Europe and you were captured, beaten and left to die."

Closing his eyes, he shook his head "Who did it, who made me this way?"

I turned around and hopped on my moped

"You don't want to know."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

 _Metropolis was dirtier than I remembered. The once gleaming buildings now accumulating dust and grim in the absence of worthy occupants, the streets teeming with filth and petty thieves of the underworld. It was her slow descent to the level of Gotham for Metropolis, I wouldn't be surprised if some criminals migrated for fresh grounds. It was almost a tragedy if it wasn't so god damn funny. It was these people who had voted in their very own suffering._

 _The downpour did nothing to wash away the sins of the citizens who surrounded me or my own. Looking up to the heavens I noted the craft flying lazily over the city, their floodlights searching the rooftops in place of the Man of Tomorrow._

 _The rhythmic splashing of my boots against water of the sidewalk was all that I focused on. I didn't bat an eye to the fifty people being loaded onto trucks or the soldier knocking down one of them with the stock of his rifle._

 _I kept walking, my hood up to cover the green the makeup and dye couldn't. I continued through the crowds, mindful of my pockets which could easily be assaulted by pickpocketers._

 _I finally reached the one building I was looking for. Looking up at the Daily Planet I couldn't help but notice the once pristine golden globe had its superstructure exposed by a massive hole going through it. At the base of the building, jerry-rigged fences were put in place to keep the public away from the condemned skyscraper. Not that it stopped the homeless._

 _Diverting down an alley I came across a nicely sized hole in the fence, pulling my coat close I ducked into the interior._

 _Walking up the once polish, debris-ridden steps I entered the main lobby. A multitude of homeless had fires in oil drums and were all huddled around their only source of light and warm._

 _As I walked past them very few gave me a glance, perhaps they thought that I was there to apprehend them, the further could be from the truth._

 _The power having been cut from the building swiftly after its near demolition meant their elevators did not operate, and the stairs would have to make due._

 _After a swift jog, I managed to reach level 33, even with water constantly running down the stairs. I walked into a once spacious office area, the cubicles had long since been abandoned, their computers to never be used to report the news, that privilege was handed over to the state propaganda centers._

" _You made it."_

 _Instantly I produced a revolver from my jacket, it's rusty barrel pointed at the exact location of the voice._

 _Hands raised the figure came from out of the darkness. The once slim and polished brunette had seen better days, her clothing was muddied and her hair had strands of gray hinting at her age._

" _Bruce would have wept."_

 _Lowering the revolver, I holstered it and reached out a hand for her to shake._

" _You smell like shit," I said wrinkling my nose._

" _You know how to charm a woman whose been in the sewers for a month."_

 _I shrugged "Just the truth, hard to come by these days." I said._

" _You wearing makeup nowadays?" she asked confused by my pale face._

 _I smirked, "Can't have people knowing you're a meta-human, even the criminals, they'd trade the information in that I'm around for anything."_

" _Guessing that's also why you have a revolver, "she said as she pulled a small black rectangle from her pocket. "Coordinates, their purpose, just about everything you need in here." She said handing it over._

" _Now what?_

 _Pocketing the device, I crossed my arms "I'm not sure, cross them off one by one, Dick is obsessive as ever…"_

" _Dick isn't in charge, he's too scared, he's lost everything"_

" _And we haven't?" I shot back._

 _Sighing she continued "Look, I've been thinking… perhaps we need to… perhaps it's time… leave."_

 _I rolled my eyes "Leave North America, yeah that's great, so hide in Antarctica, or Australia, not like that's not already conquered." I said sarcastically "We can only do this here, this is the base of operations, the only place we can get this right."_

 _Looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact she started again "I'm not talking about going to another continent… I'm talking about going to another planet."_

 _Before I could explode she cut me off "I know you can't fathom it, and maybe Dick can't, but I want you to put it out there, at least let people have the choice…"_

" _They did… twice." I glared_

" _We lost.. and we can't win." She said gritting her teeth "They're gone and we need to move on, you need to move on, I know you think that they're still out there, but they're gone, we need to accept it."_

"You _need to accept that."_

" _It's not over yet."_

 _Suddenly through the broken walls and shattered windows light flooded the room, the engines of hovercraft ringing in my ears, how had I not noticed._

" _COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP," a loudspeaker rang out._

 _I instantly ran towards the stairwell, only to see the lights of a multitude of guards coming up the stairs._

" _Shit, they tracked you, didn't you make sure you weren't followed!" I yelled as I ran back towards her._

 _Looking around I was really surprised that no one had burst through the walls guns blazing, so hopefully, this would be easier than expected._

 _The elevator shaft was the best option, I grabbed her and dragged her over the sealed entrance. Praying it was stuck at a higher elevation than us I quickly pulled the doors apart, the metal squealing in protest._

 _To my dismay, it was just below our own level, moving onto the next I opened that as well to find it hanging at the very top._

" _Ok, I'm going to…"_

 _I was swiftly cut off by machine gun fire, the main guns on the hovercraft had opened up and it peppered the room with bullet holes._

 _Not needing to explain I grabbed her and jumped onto the cable, the ride down was exhilarating, the speed at which we went seemed caused smoke to rise from my gloved hands._

 _Hitting the bottom, I pulled out my revolver and gave it to her, "I'm betting there's some in the lobby."_

 _Prying open the door, sure enough, there were 10 or so guards who had guns pointed to the homeless._

 _She didn't even wait and started firing away at the guard. None of the rounds impacted the troopers, but it did send them running for cover, oblivious to their surroundings._

 _In their confusion, they didn't notice us as we sped out the door as they looked at more likely places that they could have been ambushed from._

 _We ran out into the rain, where we both limped away to an alley across the street, looking up she just walked by me, but I watched as the hovercraft sent rocket after rocket into the floor we were just on._

" _Garfield…" She called, looking over to her, I noticed she was sitting on the ground with her hand covering her side, chrisom liquid leaking between her fingers._

 _Behind me the sound of rifle fire could be heard inside the lobby, I guessed that the homeless we 'rent supposed to leave._

 _Crouching down to her I pulled some cloth out from my belt pressed it against the wound "It's going to be ok Lois."_

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I woke with a start, adrenaline pumping through my veins forcing me awake.

It was only a dream, only a dream I told myself, but it was no reassurance.

I moved my arm only to knock over something very warm. Turning swiftly I saw I had pushed a soldering iron onto a piece of cloth, instantly I worked quickly to put out the growing flame.

I had been working on the improved suit before I fell asleep, perhaps I fell face first into some solder as well.

The days were going by slowly at Titans Tower, to my disappointment Val-Yor never showed. I was really hoping to beat the shit out of him when he did, in the end behind all his strength and power he was nothing but a space racist.

So I used the time to expand my workshop in the pocket dimension, everything had to be disassembled, brought in piece by piece and reassembled, but it was a distraction and somewhat needed.

Different walls now kept each group of items to itself, not something my old self would do, he would have simply thrown everything to an available space.

During all this, I thought of the near future and how to keep the team helping Raven.

 **Haven't done a flashback in a while and decided this was a perfect time. The problem with season 4 is that in between all the main story episodes it is a bit unevenly spaced, mostly because of the three-episode long finale.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Real mature sir, and I will determine the amount of sass allowed in these author notes thank you very much.**

 **Mochafraptor- Ah yes, the beginning, well time will tell *wink* as for Raven…**

 **Adrinsane- Catching on seems a bit much, more like having a few unanswered questions.**

 **Beakers47- I think it's important to have more than one POV in a story, as long as it's important and drives a story forward.**


	36. Chapter 36: Impact

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 36: Impact

"Why is it that we always have to spit up?" I asked myself as my piece of the T-Ship fell towards the planet below, the reinforced glass shaking as it was superheated by the friction with the air.

Looking at the altimeter I figured I had about a minute till I made contact with the ground below.

Grabbing my flight stick I tried to pull up hard but to no avail.

"Fuck it." I said as I powered up my ring and started to slow down the pod.

Apparently I was closer to the ground than I thought because I could only slow it down slightly before crashing into what felt like a jungle below.

Limbs snapped as I collided with them, the pod rapidly decelerating and accelerating between branches before finally coming to a stop on the forest floor.

Exhaling loudly, I pushed the glass open to get a better view of my surrounds as well as not wanting to get caught in an explosion that might occur from leaking fuel.

Hopping out onto the ground, or rather lack thereof.

With no ground I was in freefall before shifting into a bird. Stabilizing myself I saw where my pod had landed, there a multiple thousand-pound spacecraft was wedged neatly in a tree.

Shooting up above the canopy I looked around to see if I could spot any others, specifically Cyborg as I would meet up with him eventually.

I looked up into the sky to see a black meteor falling from the heavens.

Bingo.

Heading off in its general direction I watched as it finally made contact with the forest below, black smoke marking its position.

Now it was only a matter of flying there.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

In less than 5 minutes I was close enough to the pod to touch down.

Cutting through the undergrowth I came upon the crash site, expecting Cyborg to be in pieces and thrown around the area I began to look for him.

"Cyborg, you there?" I called out, but I received no answer, then I realized the canopy wasn't even opened and it was full of smoke.

Alarm rang through me as I rushed over hoping I wasn't too late, while Cyborg's cybernetics couldn't be hurt, his organic brain still needed oxygen.

Turning into a gorilla I ripped the canopy off to find someone I didn't expect, Raven.

God dammit.

Quickly ripping her flight harness off I pulled her out of the crashed vehicle and it was only then that I realized just how bad her injuries had been. Blood flowed down her cheek from the base of her hair and she had a rather large gash down her side from jagged metal in the crash as well as a large quantity of cuts and bruises.

Not paying attention to the smaller injuries I ran back to the pod to get a small medical kit Cyborg had installed, ripping it out of its crumpled position it was mostly destroyed.

As I opened it I found that the dressings were still viable and set to work just as the pod behind me exploded.

Noting how lucky it was that I got here in time I wrapped her head in the bandages, the white cloth slowly turning red. I gently rolled her on her side to get a better look at her side and it was worse than I had previously thought.

The gash went from her hip to the small of her back and curved up, it was deeper at the hip but there wasn't much room till it hit something important, with this amount of damage I was surprised she didn't instinctively go in a healing coma.

Pulling out what stitching wasn't broken I found that I was having trouble threading the needle as my hands were shaking. I finally gave up and used dark energy to thread it and proceeded to not use my hands when piecing her skin.

For what felt like two hours I slaved over the gash, but eventually I had just enough material to close it and put dressings over it.

The sun was beginning to set over the forest we were in, shelter and water would be paramount.

One flare was included in the emergency kit which would be enough to start a fire, and I could easily assemble a lean-to.

I quickly set about the tasks, first was fire for Raven, I wasn't sure how cold it would get on the planet, it seemed like so long ago that we were here.

Gathering rocks and dry materials I started a pit, igniting the flare I used the flame to ignite the small materials and it slowly engulfed the pit.

Turning my attention to structural materials I just used dark energy to cut nice sized pieces of wood, five in total. I used vines to bind two to 90 degree angles and placed them against a tree. Taking the fifth I placed that at the center point of each making a simple frame and filled in the gap between all to form a roof.

By now night had fallen and I began to hear small little droplets hit the forest floor.

Great.

Soon enough an entire storm was upon us, relatively high speed winds rocked the structure. I would be able to hold it down with dark energy, but I would be required to stay awake, not like I wasn't going to already, Raven hadn't woken up yet, though she had started to hover meaning she was healing.

I hated to see any of the team like this, least of all her, especially now with Trigon looming over her, a burden I could sympathize with.

I once asked why bad things happened to good people, but I was never able to find the answer till I met Harvey Dent or should I say Two Face.

That was the day I understood, I had faced the Joker, Mr. Freeze, Slade, Captain Boomerang, I had met lots of people, but when I faced him a finally saw the truth. There was no reason for it, only that the world is cruel and unforgiving, that it has no compassion, it knows only chance.

The world knows no bias, it's not prejudice, it's not raciest, nor is it xenophobic, all it is cold nothing more, everyone has the same chance, in a way its far, but it shows no pity. Dick could have been a circus performer the rest of his life, perhaps he wouldn't have had to face the death of his parents if the performance had been a day later or sooner, but instead he was called into another profession.

Would I have been this way if I hadn't been playing too far away from my parents? I probably would have died on that boat, or I wouldn't have been on the boat and I would have parents, and this entire reality wouldn't exist.

All life was a clusterfuck of numbers, chances that were taken and the results weighed in.

Suddenly the cracking of a tree brought me out of my thoughts as it fell right in front of our small shelter.

The wind seemed to have that one last hurrah before ceasing. Loosening my hold on the lean-to I looked over to Raven.

I rolled her in the air and pulled away the ripped leotard to check her dressing, it was closing, but only slightly.

I laid her flat out again and checked her head. Using my hand to look for the gash that had been oozing only hours earlier I was relieved to see that it was nearly closed up.

Leaning in to see just how deep it was at the moment I couldn't see any bone which relieved me, but just as I was that close Raven's eyes shot open.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Looking back on it now I realized that my back must have been in much more pain than my fist after I struck Beast Boy. In my defense he was less than a few inches away from my face and waking up to his would make anyone willing to punch it.

However, as he jumped back the pain in my back exploded, letting out a painful yell it felt like fire was burning off my flesh.

"Jesus Raven you've probably broken your stitches!" Beast Boy shouted as he rushed back to my side. I was as defensive as I was only moments earlier, but be couldn't have been bothered less with my objections as he tried to roll me over on my side to check my back.

The pain eventually forced me to comply, it was humiliating having beast Boy attend to my wounds, I wondered if he even had any medical training.

"You're lucky, you just stretched it out, I won't have to do anything, just yet." He said as he reapplied dressings over the damaged flesh.

He tried to help me roll over, but I batted him away "It's not like I can't do this on my own." I said which was followed by a slight wince as I finally settled.

"Since when we have emergency lean-tos?" I asked.

"We don't, Cyborg forgot to pack that." He said sarcastically before we both went silent for a few moments as he put more wood on the fire in front of us.

"Who built it, Robin?" I asked looking at the structure, it was sound enough to be deemed steady.

"Actually me," He said.

I looked at him incredibly "You must be joking." I said in a monotone voice.

He shook his head, "No, I haven't found anyone else, I saw your pod and headed towards it.

Slight panic ran through me, if we couldn't find the others how were we going to get off this rock?

"We have to go looking for them, they could be hurt or…" I said before Beast Boy cut me off.

"And what are we going to do, hmm, you can't even get up, we can't just go hiking across the planet."

"We have to do something!" I said, not trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"I don't think you realize just how injured you are, you have a cut on your forehead, probably a mild concussion and you have a gash going from you hip and hooking around to right under your lung, I can't move you Raven." He said sternly.

"Then you go, I'll stay." I said abruptly, I would be damned if we were stuck here forever with him as my only company.

"And leave you here defenseless to that thing that wrecked the station and our ship?" he asked.

Just then a thunderous roar was heard throughout the forest

"Great," I said and turned back to Raven "you stay here, I'll deal with it." I said getting up and dusting myself off.

She just stared at me "And what exactly are you going to do?" she asked, but I just shrugged in response,

"I'll think of something."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

The only reason I attacked the life form head on was to keep its attention on me and not Raven, that didn't turn out so well for me though.

The Shreiker was able to combat a charging Triceratops and effectively stop it in its tracks.

Before I could change tactics the beast came charging head on, instinctively I shifted into a turtle as it slammed into me.

This pattern seemed to continue forever, rhino, elephant, it didn't matter each was beaten back, a trail of broken trees in our wake

Suddenly an idea struck me in the head, I wasn't sure how my younger body would react, but it was worth a shot.

I readied myself and tried to shift, focusing on the creature in front of me I drank in every detail I could. I could feel myself changing, my height growing and my mass shifting.

For a moment the Shreiker just looked at me, probably confused as to why I turned into one of its kind. That was right before he was thrown back by a hostile roar.

Apparently it didn't take well to being attacked with its own frequency so I continued to advance on it, as it steadily fell back.

Eventually I was within arms distance of it, landing a massive blow on its torso I could hear all the foliage move from the shockwave which sent the creature flying.

Chasing after it I finally came to the smoldering crater where it had landed.

Shifting back, I bent down and look closer into the debris, only to be thrown back when the creature, bruised but not broken, launched itself back out.

Landing a few yards back I picked myself up as it charged again, like a raging bull.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted as I sent a spear of dark energy shooting towards it.

I heard the crack of armor and saw exactly what I had done, I threw my arms wide open and the creature exploded into two halves.

Green blood spilled down all over the ground and I was repulsed by the smell.

I looked down at the two main pieces of mangled flesh, their attached limbs still twitching from incoherent signals received from a mangled brain.

I instantly felt nauseous, I remembered a promise I made long ago, now I was here, that promise was broken.

I took off in a hurry as I transformed into a bird to fly back to Raven I couldn't help but notice the pain coursing through me as I flew.

My body hadn't been ready to shifting into more complex organisms like that one and I would be paying the price for the next few days, I just hoped it wasn't too bad.

Upon reaching the crash site I saw a semi-repaired T-Ship had landed nearby and three more figures standing around, a large crowd of small creatures gathered around them.

Even from this far off I heard their chanting "Booya."

 **Yes, yes I know this episode happened after the Prophecy, but it just is so much better here, the entire layout of season 4 is a bit uneven.**

 **REVIEWS**

 **Beakers47- Thanks man.**

 **Mochafraptor- The chapters are getting slightly longer, but I don't have all the time in the world to write (to my disappointment).**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Alright, take it down a notch.**

 **Pikachewy- Wow, you literally have the same thoughts as me when it comes to Time Travel, always a pleasure to agree with someone and as for Val Yor all I'm going to say is that he will show up, eventually.**

 **Alright that's it for this week, but I do have a warning I probably will not upload next week, I was incredibly sick this week with some virus or the flu and basically couldn't write anything new. I also don't have any more chapters in reserve as I got major writers block for a few chapters so I need to write more. DON'T WORRY JUST BECAUSE I DON'T UPDATE ONE WEEK DOESN'T MEAN I ABANDONED A STORY!**

 **Now that we have that out of the way, until next time.**


	37. Chapter 37: Truths Unraveled Part: I

**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

Chapter 36: Truths Unraveled Part I

Fire wasn't my taste. It was too chaotic, too unpredictable, and spread like a weed of destruction.

Behind me I could feel the presence of Slade, his one good eye sinking into the back of my head.

"Tick Tock Raven Time is running out." He said.

I whipped around only to find nothing but ruins.

"Besides, that oaf of yours probably already informed you 'friends'. " He spat.

I bit back a direct response "I'm not afraid of you!" I shot back.

Suddenly he appeared before me, a pillar of fire marking his arrival "Tisk Tisk Raven, you know better than that, I'm not the one you should be afraid of." He said as he swayed his index finger back and forth.

Suddenly Fire rained down from the like a meteor shower, I watched as the buildings around us were impacted by the fire, explosions rocking the earth.

" **What you have concealed you will become!"** I heard his booming voice ring throughout my dreamscape.

Suddenly two of the fireballs diverted from their natural course and zoned in on me.

I swiftly pulled up a shield to block the fire, the impact shook the ground around me until the blaze burned itself out.

"It's a lie, I'd die before I let Trigon into this world willingly!" I should as I explained my dark energy to wipe out the flames.

"Silly girl," Slade said as he walked up to me "Who said anything about willingness."

"This was a nice talk Raven, but I have some unfinished business to attend to, I'll see you real soon."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I knocked on Ravens door and waited a few seconds, the sounds of footsteps rapidly approached the door before Raven answered with her hood up.

"Robin," She said in her monotone voice.

"Have you found anything in your books?"

She shook head, "No, nothing."

Her disappointed tone struck me as odd, but being targeted by Slade and not knowing why could do that

"Don't worry," I said trying to reassure her "we will find out why Slade was after you, I promise."

She shook her head, "Slade doesn't concern me Robin... if you don't mind I'll get back to the books."

I nodded, and let her go, she would be more comfortable doing that anyways.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I opened my door aggressively, I had just sat down to continue reading through my books when someone else knocked on my door, but instead of Robin a green changling just happened to be there.

"Raven,"

"Beast Boy."

He had two copies of a paper clutched in his hand, and his posture was firm, like a man going into some great calamity.

Walking into the room he handed me the paper, as the door closed behind us I read the first line, _The Mark of Scath._

"Where did you find this," I said as I gritted my teeth, how the hell was he able to find this! His literacy extended only to comic books, there was no way he could have pulled this from an actual book.

Instead of staying near me he walked over to one of my many shelves, examining a rather powerful artifact before responding.

"The Internet is a thing Raven, and if you dig through the happy-go-lucky coating, you can find dark shit, that happened to be on a satanic wiki."

I raised an eyebrow "Satanists have wikis?" I deadpanned, it was almost flattering.

"Apparently, or at least on the Dark Web they do, but that's what we need." He said.

"The Mark of Scath, relatable to only one being," He said as I scanned the paper.

Looking up I saw his worried face, could I blame him? Fighting Slade or Brother Blood was one thing, but an interdimensional demon? He had a right to be worried.

"Raven, you need to tell me everything about this, you have to tell the team, I know you're afraid that…"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" I snapped at him, for once he wasn't even fazed and just stood there like an idiot.

Like he knew what it was like to be the half-breed daughter of a Demon, to know that you were supposed to end the world one day, to have that information on the future in your head. Who did he think he was?

I quickly composed myself, emotions had been running high lately and mediation had been a problem since my last visit to Nevermore

"I'm….." I started to say, but he interrupted me.

"Raven, you don't have to be sorry, it's a delicate subject, but right now it's prevalent that we know everything we can about this 'Trigon'," he said as he looked back down at the paper, it seemed like he really didn't know about my parentage.

"There is one this that spiked my interest," At that my heart rate spiked, what was it now that he was going to ask?

"Your mantra, or spell, whichever it is, that you use, you use the word Azarath, it's only briefly mentioned…"

"It's my home," I said softly, but loud enough to silence him. "Correction: Azarath was my first home."

He raised an eyebrow "Why do you use the name of a place?" he asked confused, it wasn't like he knew anything of magic anyways.

I walked over to one of my other bookcases to try to find a certain book relating to Azarath, searching all the shelves I scowled. I couldn't find it, but a lesser book would do, probably just got misplaced.

Turning to him I held a dark green book with golden trimmings. Flipping open the pages I quickly found what I was looking for.

A hand painted picture of Azarath was situated on the page, its floating island situated as if it was levitating from the edges of the pages, its silvery towers shooting towards an imaginary sky.

"That is Azarath, and its where I was born," I explained to Beast Boy, his face only showing slight surprise.

"The entire realm is protected from Trigon by enchantments and seals, but it is possible to travel in and out, it's just very inconvenient."

He raised an eyebrow "What, you can't just throw me there through one of your portals?" he asked.

I scowled and slammed the book, walking back over to the shelves I placed it back into its proper place. "No, it's protected like I said, and I haven't even thrown you through any portals since…" I thought back, it had been a rather long time since I had really physically done anything malicious to him.

"I guess before Terra came, yeah,"

Silence stood in the room as I left my hand on the book on the shelf, for a few moments we were just like that, I stood there, waiting for him to make some comment about the creepiness of my room, or a joke about getting lighter furniture, but it never came.

How odd.

Suddenly the klaxon alarms went off and I frowned.

"Looks like there's someone else to throw through portals today." He said as he dashed out of my room to the commons.

I rolled my eyes and followed, just another day with the Titans, I just hoped it wasn't Slade.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"It's Slade"

Robin turned to us as he signaled us to head run to the T-Ship hangar.

We all ran off down the halls, I quickly noticed that Raven was lagging behind and slowed down.

Putting a hand on her shoulder I gave her a reassuring look.

"Don't worry Raven, it'll be fine."

Turns out it wasn't fine.

The fire could be seen for miles as we approached. Looking out the bubble canopy I noted the pillars of smoke which were illuminated by the flames.

Landing nearby we all took off towards the chaos. We pressed through the flames, thank god this was an abanded industrial district, who knows the casualties if this were an actual city block.

We stayed among the rooftops, trying to find where more of the destruction originated, but to no avail, at least until a fireball landed directly under the building in the middle of our group.

As we all recovered we looked down to see the mercenary wrecking havoc down below.

"SLADE!" Robin called out, personally I thought it would be more productive if we ambushed him from the high ground, but Robin with his brilliant tactical mind had other ideas.

Looking up Slade probably would have looked amused under the mask, if he had any tissue that is.

"Reduced to arson?" Robin shouted down to him.

Slade chuckled "Hardly, I'm doing an important public service, illumination."

"TITANS GO!" Robin shouted as we all shot down towards him, all except for Raven who hesitated for the slightest of moments.

Cyborg was neutralized first, knocked completely through a steel dumpster. Robin and Starfire danced around him, Robin in hand to hand combat with cryo bombs and Starfire assisting him.

Shifting into a tiger I lunged and landed the occasional blow as well, but to Slade it was nothing, all our attacks were nothing.

"Enough." He said rather calmly as he produced a wave of flame from underneath him causing us to disengage.

Before anyone could land a blow again he disappeared like a phantasm, regardless he continued to bombard the area from anywhere he could.

The team soon found themselves separated, and those of us who could fly did so to escape the flames.

Explosion after an explosion rocked the ground as I searched for Cyborg, Robin would handle himself, but Cyborg could have been disabled by the earlier strike.

Debris landed on me as I tried to navigate the apocalyptic landscape, but eventually, I found him, wide awake and functioning, his sonic blaster carving a way through the flames.

Groaning he cracked his neck when I reached him "Man, I am not used to getting my butt whooped _this_ much."

I nodded, but couldn't reply as someone spoke over the coms.

"Friends, I think you should see this." I head Starfire speak over the communicator.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I was one to shy away from abandoned buildings, in fact, I found myself using them for shelter many times, but this building I could never get over the feeling it gave me.

Even when we originally came here, when I was young and foolish I couldn't help but feel put off by the building, but now the feeling was intensified. The uneasiness, how unbalanced it made me feel was almost nauseous.

"This is the only building not destroyed in a three-block radius," Robin said, "but why?"

I noted the granite pillars, worn from time, no wonder they fell last time, whoever designed this building did not mean fort it to last. That or they were too busy building a fucking labyrinth beneath it and worshiping an interdimensional demon to care much about entrance pillars.

"I saw Slade after we were separated and he told me the symbol on his head was called the Mark of Scath, so we better look for it while we're in there."

I looked over to Raven who seemed alarmed, why wouldn't she be?

We all started forward before she blurted out "Wait, it could be a trap!".

Looking back Robin still had his trademark calm face "It could be, but it's a chance we have to take."

With that, we all continued forward, towards the darkness.

 **HA, you bet I wasn't going to show up this week, well I wasn't but I felt bad. Oh, and about the Satanic Wiki, I know it's ridiculous, but it's just so amusing to me and let's be honest there probably is one out there.**

 **REVIEWS**

 **Mochafraptor- I guess life caught up with me, I slowly fell behind on writing chapters and here I am now so… yea.**

 **The Dimensional Reader- When she woke up? Of course, besides you have to have BB abused by Raven at least a little.**

 **Beakers47- BB hurt? Man I really would never hurt BB in my story (Obvious Sarcasm)**

 **Now I have been way overworked with school so I am making a certain prediction that some weeks I just won't be able to update. In fact, I was thinking about making it every other weekw, but I don't know we will see how life wants this to play out, I just want it to be summer so I can write whenever I want!**

 **Until next time.**


	38. Chapter 38: Truths Unraveled Part: II

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 38: Truths Unraveled Part II

Walking through the library was more worrying than I remembered. This time I noticed the crumbling pillars, and the rotting wood that was holding up the structure. Cracks lined the walls and spotty patches tried to cover them.

Bits of scaffolding were strewn about the main floor, perhaps from a past renovation project that lost funding, but that was all speculation.

I bent down to pick up a book, my eyes adjusting to the dark environment while the others used Cyborg's should-mounted light.

Flipping open a page the words of Shakespeare greeted me, and I shook my head, the neglect of literature. I didn't voice any of my concerns as it would have raised more than one eyebrow, I wasn't exactly a bookworm when I was young.

I swiftly placed it back on a shelf and continued with the group.

I looked up, a rather large glass dome that still held all its glass intact towered above us, the moonlight glittered in illuminated parts of the main floor.

We walked around the inside of the building for nearly a half an hour, but found nothing, coming to the end of another hall Cyborg sighed.

"Another dead end,"

"There's nothing here," Raven blurted out rather quickly "can we go now?"

No sooner than she said that then the wall right best to me glowed red with the Mark of Scath. I stumbled back in mock fear, and the stone slid away to reveal a flight of steps.

"If movies have taught me anything it's that you usually shouldn't use secret passages."

Slowly the team funneled through the small stairway with Cyborg lighting the way.

Eventually, we came to a familiar room with a large arched ceiling and multiple cloaked statues.

"I did not realize that your library's housed such unpleasant sculptures," Starfire said.

"They don't" Cyborg replied as he looked down on his wrist "This part of the building is old, I mean old old, like before the city was built."

All of a sudden the the room lit up with red markings, symbols seemingly in the same design as the mark of Scath littered the room.

I glanced back to Raven who was desperately trying to hide the markings on her skin from showing.

Then the statue's eyes began to glow and slowly misty figures rose from them and transformed into cloaked phantoms. As one they chanted an all too familiar prophecy.

" _The gem was born of evil's fire, the gem shall be his portal, he comes to claim, he comes to sire the end of all things mortal."_

As they finished their chant, Robin looked back to Raven who had already begun to run back up the stairs. I silently followed as both Starfire and Cyborg were preoccupied with the ghouls above.

"Raven!" Robin yelled, and finally Raven turned around.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked stopping on a few steps below her.

"This place, I shouldn't be here… it's all wrong," She mumbled.

Robin, confused, tried to press for answers, I however just waited in the shadows.

"What's going on Raven. What aren't you telling me?"

"I can't explain, I just need to leave, I can't go back in there!" She said panicked as she turned to dark energy.

"Raven!" Robin shouted but was stopped by my hand on his shoulder.

"Let her go, Robin," I said.

He raised an eyebrow "Beast Boy, what…."

"She needs time, give it to her," I said calmly, in turn, he nodded.

We descended the stairs in silence before entering the large room again.

"There you are," Cyborg said while glancing at the stairs, "Where's Raven?"

Robin simply went to the opposite end of the room and landed a decisive kick against the stone with the engraving of the Mark of Scath.

"She's not coming." He said as he pushed on.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Candles lit themselves as I entered my room. Without a few days of proper meditation, I was lucky that I was still in control of my powers.

Quickly clearing a spot, I levitated two jars full of exotic dust and circled them around me.

"You might be able to stop me from meditating," I mumbled while retrieving a book from beneath my bed, "but you can't stop me from leaving,"

I gathered enough candles to encircle the previous circle I had just made and opened my book. I read the incantations aloud and instantly blue energy encircled me.

Blue lighting shot randomly around me before a portal opened above, not waiting a moment longer I shot into it, knowing my last hope lay beyond it.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"How far down do you think it is?" Cyborg asked.

Currently, I was looking down the large circular staircase and wasn't exactly looking forward to the long walk or the company we would receive.

"I don't know, but I would think you would put a laser rangefinder on that high-tech body of yours," I said in annoyance.

Sheepishly Cyborg rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I never thought about that."

"We better get moving," Robin said as he headed down the steps his cape flapping behind him.

It seemed to drag on forever an infinite number of steps stretching on endlessly.

Suddenly Robin stopped and peered over the stairs straight into the abyss.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

No one answered instead, they joined him in staring into the darkness. At least until a large amount of ghosts came screaming up towards us.

At first, I didn't really notice what had happened, it seemed like a swarm of transparent white, but as soon as I felt the stairs beneath us shake I knew what was happening.

"TITANS MOVE!" Robin shouted as we all dashed further down the steps.

Looking back, I saw the section of stairs we were previously on beginning to collapse. As it fell I realized something that Robin apparently didn't.

These stairs were a circle and eventually, we would have to deal with a few tons of falling stone.

Silently I continued on with the group, slashing randomly and ineffectively at ghouls. Eventually, we found ourselves beneath where the stairs had collapsed and instead of creating a pile of rubble the lower steps collapsed under the weight.

Robin didn't miss a beat as he dove down to the next level. Following I nearly hesitated as I heard nearly a dozen more crashes.

Looking up I saw what they were doing, several pieces of stairs were in freefall. Each impacting and collapsing the next layer, this increased the mass of the falling objects kept breaking the next section.

Soon we were racing falling stairwells and we were losing.

Robin continued on, not wanting to simply jump off the side like last time he wanted some very strenuous exercise.

After a few minutes, I was suddenly tripped by something grabbing my ankle, looking back at my leg I saw the translucent figure holding me in place. Looking up I could just make out a falling piece coming towards me.

I did my best to shake off the ghost before rolling over the side of the stairs and into freefall.

I looked over to see the team finding the marked entrance to more tunnels and was about to transform into some flying creature when the ghosts swarmed me.

"BEAST BOY!" I heard someone yell as they all tried to latch onto me.

Starfire couldn't fly after me as the ghouls had surrounded me. I tried shaking them off, but I soon realized what they were doing, they were forcing me downwards, increasing my velocity so that I would impact with lethal force.

Soon I contemplated that I was out of sight of anyone and decided this situation called for a more supernatural specialty,

Dark energy struck the spirits randomly as I lashed out at them. Realizing that I could actually hurt them now they seemed wary, and back away lightly, it might also have been that they were confused about how similar the energy was to another.

They no longer swarmed me, but instead attacked me one at a time, which made my job much easier. However, one thing that I didn't take into account was the amount of time it would require to dispose of them.

So right as I turned into a pterodactyl and began to rapidly slow my decent I obviously felt myself hit the ground and the already dark room went black.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Traveling between dimensions used to be one of my favorite things to do. When I was young and had first found out how to do so I spent much more time than I should have to practice and perfecting the art.

I had lots of experience, you could say I was one of the few people in existence who could reliably describe what is was like and the norms of it would be like.

So when a large wall of flame appeared right before I would enter Azarath I was understandably worried.

A bit of quick thinking and a few course corrections later I was off to one of the less memorable ways to get into Azarath.

It was actually the original was I left, when I was young I had found a smaller and more secluded 'path' to get in and out of Azarath. There was just one catch.

It was much more dangerous to travel through there. It was much more 'narrow' per say, and it took a very talented and powerful traveler to navigate it.

Luckily I was both.

I quickly found my way through it with memory and a dash of simple luck, but no sooner then the end of my cape had been singed against the very dangerous and acid like dimensional walls that I was back in my birthplace.

Levitating there I looked at the floating city, its magnificence stretching out before me.

Dashing off towards me desitnation I remained high in the sky, my small form barely visible from the crowds below.

Markets selling food, vendors selling goods, and monks traveling about all nostalgic meeting my eyes.

Pushing onward over the city I found the tower I was looking for, and there just so happened to be a lone figure cloaked in white waiting for me on its single balcony.

Landing behind the figure who was staring out over the city I silently walked behind them.

"Mother." I breathed.

Calmly she turned around, a pigeon clutched in her hands my mother didn't appear a day older than what I remembered her as.

"Raven." She replied, with a small smile.

I opened my mouth to speak, I recited words I had thought about saying, a quick speech on the situations, or perhaps asking if I could stay, but nothing came out.

"I know why you are here." She said calmly, as she walked towards me. "Your prophecy is beginning."

"Mother, how…" I stuttered, but she, in turn, gestured to the city.

"Tell me, what do you feel?"

I did as I was told, I closed my eyes and extended my senses to the city, I couldn't take in everything at the same time, but I could detect the underlying feelings of the population, at least on this scale.

"I feel fear."

Arella nodded. "I assume that you came in contact with something… insidious outside the dimensional seals?" she asked.

I nodded, "Has Trigon besieged Azarath?" I asked incredibly, he was never able to do so before, the seals are too strong.

"The city has been on high alert for days now, but I don't believe there is any reason for worry yet." She said as she reaching into her cloak with one hand which holding the bird in the other.

Pulling out a folded black letter she handed it to me without even taking her eyes off the city.

I flipped it over to examine it but was greeted with a seal, a seal with the Mark of Scath of it.

"Where did you get this!?" I asked, more than a hint if outrage in my voice.

"It appeared on my bed the day the siege started, you should read it."

And I did, slowly, methodically, taking every word and running it through my head like evidence under a microscope. And when I didn't I looked at Arella incredibly.

"He won't attack?" I asked, "Unless you take me in."

She nodded "He knows that this s a safe haven for you, and if we give you shelter, he will not hesitate to invade,"

"But he can't even break the seals!" I yelled.

"and how did you get in?" she countered and I saw her point.

"You can't send an army through here, it's suicidal," I said, it was ridiculous.

Arella shrugged "Perhaps, but there is not seal there and it would take much more time then we have to make a new seal, so the proverbial backdoor remains unlocked."

I frowned.

"So what does this mean for us?"

 **I'M BACK!**

 **How was that chapter, after a few weeks not having anything I'm sure you guys want just about anything and just for you this chapter was a bit longer than usual, just the kinda guy I am.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader: Perhaps, perhaps not, I'm sure that its rectified in the future. Wink***

 **Beakers47: I do accept that as a pun (However it may sound).**

 **Mochafraptor: High expectations for the fourth season, I'm hoping I can live up to it.**

 **A Simple Tree: Well the next update is here, but I'm not sure this is binge read material, its more like fine wine-ish, is that even a thing?**

 **No Friday update this week, you get it early, I'll probably stick to the every other week pattern, if life isn't too crazy.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	39. Chapter 39: Truths Unraveled Part: III

**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

Chapter 39: Truths Unraveled Part III

My eyes shot open only to be greeted by darkness.

Air suddenly filled my lungs as dull pain began to spread throughout my body.

Blinking a few times my eyes adjusted to the darkness, but I only found rubble to be in my field of view.

Groaning, I tried to push myself off the ground, but instead a sharp pain exploded in my arm.

Growling out a curse or two I twisted my head to look at it and saw my shoulder had an unnatural bulge to it.

Dislocated. Shit.

On top of that, I now noticed that I had a few rather large gashes on my arms, nothing serious but enough to bleed and collect into a rather large drip.

Using only my other hand I gently pushed myself up so that I was resting on my knees. Ever millimeter of movement causes more pain to pulse through my body.

Rubble surrounded me and I was lucky that I hadn't been crushed by the debris. However, I almost wished there wasn't any because of what I had to do.

Looking around for a viable object I found that I would be able to trap my hand underneath one of the stone debris.

Getting up I slowly walked over to one and knelt down in front of it. Using my left hand, I picked my now limp right hand and trapped it under.

Taking a few deep breaths, I steeled my nerves. One, Two…

I jerked my body away from the fallen object.

*Pop*

Instantly a roar of pain rang throughout the entire chamber, echoing off its walls, I suddenly saw stars in my vision and became lightheaded.

Pulling my arm out from under the debris I rested on all fours and tried to catch my breath. I had never taken dislocated joints easily and it seemed in my younger body it was much, much worse.

Slowly I picked myself up and massaged my shoulder. Taking a better look around now I was able to see a solitary object beyond the pile of stone around me.

Walking over to it torches suddenly lit up beside it. A stone altar sat in front of me, a rather unpleasant looking blade rested on it.

I never considered myself a particularly brilliant man, but even I knew that live sacrifices were not something you want to be. So I quite silently tried to walk away.

The darkness here was strong, I had felt the raw power of some of Raven's artifacts before, I had heard her ramble on about how nothing should ever be touched, but this place, it reeked of something else.

Insidious. That was the only word I could put in my mind when I thought about describing this place, and I was going to heed my natural instincts to just walk away rather quickly.

It may have been sheer dumb luck, or it might have been fate, it didn't matter, but what mattered was I noticed too late that the cuts I had received were bleeding a whole lot more. The darkness of the room seemingly drawing the blood from me.

A few splashes to the ground caused the rest of the circular room to instantly light up as torches ignited around me on the walls.

 _Welcome, Garfield Logan._

That can't be good.

Slowly I turned around, expecting some sort of cloaked figure, or some cultist, I was surprised to find a woman standing at the altar.

Incredibly beautiful she wore a rather loose white dress with no other articles of clothing seemly on her. From where I stood finer details were harder to make out, but platinum blonde hair curled around her neck and rested on her shoulder in a braid.

"Um, hello?" I said warily, obviously, this was some sort of illusion, or I was in much more serious trouble than I imagined.

Strolling around the altar she placed her hand on it as she walked, looking at it and then at me she narrowed her eyes before a thin smile grew on her face.

 _I have not had a visitor in many moons, but I have not had a solitary visitor in even longer._

A flash of silvery teeth, made me even more alert, and looking around the room I was swiftly hit with the fact that there were no passages leaving nor were there any stairs, the only path out was up.

 _Why do you search for exits when you have called me?_ It asked

I narrowed my eyes "I didn't."

Raising an eyebrow, she examined the floor. _Is that not your blood?_

"That was just me bleeding, I bet you can see that I had a pretty nasty fall," I said gesturing to the rubble behind me.

Smirking she nodded.

"You obviously know my name, but who are you?" I asked.

 _Ira, Merely an envoy, a servant of my master._

Perhaps Trigon, but it wasn't about to find out, whatever it was it was ancient and usually that wasn't a good thing.

"Could you point me in the proper direction?" I asked cautiously, hoping that all she said was up.

Bringing her hand to her face and tapping her lips with her fingers she continued smirking _One cannot simply call and expect a debt not to be paid._ She said, _As is said, I have not had a visitor in a long time_.

I rubbed my face with my uninjured arm "Let me guess… you're going to kill me?" I said rather nonchalantly.

She laughed, it was cold and shallow _I am merely a tool, a vessel, you will be the ultimate demise of yourself._

I rolled my eyes, _You will face that which you hate most, it is not my position to find out why, as I said, think of me as an envoy."_ She said, before tilting her _head "I wish I could have talked longer."_

It didn't even seem like a second before she disintegrated into a cloud of mist.

I looked around cautiously, everything was still, there wasn't even an air current.

.

.

.

It didn't take long at all for me to crash against the wall. I nearly screamed as my shoulder exploded in pain. Looking up I could already tell who it was.

The blast of pure energy was green, Malachor stood here, his hand outreached.

 _Interesting, a sorcerer, currently I can tell by your emotions that it was not you that he wronged._

Another blast of energy embedded itself into the wall behind the spot I previously was. I had shifted to a wolf and was continuously dodging numerous green bolts.

Suddenly a red blur smashed into me. Landing on my weakened shoulder I didn't even have time to cry out in pain as Brother Blood's foot came crashing down to where I previously lay.

 _Ah, an old adversary, but not true anger?_

Suddenly his body dematerialized and I stood there alone.

It was only a few moments before I felt that hair on the back of my neck stand up and I blocked a fist or more of a spear. Madame Rogue looked back at me as I gritted my teeth.

 _Ha, there it is, what did she do?_

A flexible arm wrapped itself around my leg and dragged me to the floor. Swiftly I was thrown like a ragdoll against some of the fallen debris.

Annoyance flowed through me as memories of time with Rogue filled my head. It wasn't until she attacked again that I realized her fighting style was all wrong. A flaw in the illusion. Another fist connected with my stomach and I was brought back to the conclusion this may not be an illusion after all.

Transforming into a tiger I ripped her off me and prepared to pounce just as two lasers passed by me.

This was about to get interesting.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Raven couldn't believe what her mother had told her.

"Go back to earth?" I asked, disbelief in my voice.

She only gave me a sad look, "For the good of Azarath." She said quietly.

I rolled my eyes, "And if Trigon can make good on his threats then why wouldn't he invade."

She sighed and released the dove that had been in her hands, pulling down her hood I saw her full face.

She had aged and with that came the unstoppable onset of the degradation of her features. Slight wrinkles had formed and a few gray strands had begun to grow in her hair.

"Here, Trigon is not the only one who knows of your purpose, panic is sure to spread throughout the city and I would not put it past them to hurt you."

"They're pacifists," I retorted matter-of-factly.

"Perhaps, but they are human first." She responded.

She stepped forward towards me, a slight frown on her face.

"Raven… I know that I haven't been there for you, I didn't even raise you," She started, but I had already looked away towards the city, there was no need to bring up this discussion yet again.

I suddenly felt a hand against my chin, which lifted it towards her face. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you."

My eyes went wide, according to my memories, this was the first and only time she had uttered those words out loud.

"I am immensely proud of you and even if the prophecy is true, I wouldn't trade my only daughter for the world."

A warmth coursed through me never had I received such appreciation from my mother. However, I increasingly became aware of my powers, a small wind was stirring up and I fought to bring my emotions under control.

My mother smiled at me and pulled me into a hug, I was so busy keeping myself in check that I could barely return the favor. There was no need for any more words and I took off as soon as she let go, but I could still feel her swirling emotions below and the hatred at seeing me leave her again.

I tore through the entrance and began the complex journey back home.

As I flew I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander, I didn't need clear emotions as I sped between dimensions. I thought back to all the times I was with the monks, as a young girl I had worked hard to get even a shred of acknowledgment from Arella, we didn't even live together when I was just a child. I guess it took the end of the world for her to finally open up. I always thought she just saw me as…

Suddenly a tendril of fire gripped my ankle and yanked me backward. Technically speaking there was no clear direction between dimensions, but there were clear dimensional boundaries, which I was increasing becoming close to.

Looking backward a wall of fire was rapidly approaching me. In desperation, I sent wave after wave of dark energy at the limb and while I managed to weaken it I still couldn't break free.

An idea came into my mind that I really didn't want to try, but I was out of options. Rolling on the side I put up a barrier for myself, but not for the tendril of fire. Crashing into the wall my shield turned transparent from the amount of light the reaction between the wall and the energy gave off.

The tendril instantly evaporated and I took off into a frantic dash without even bothering to leave the wall for the center of the 'tunnel'. It took a few minutes, but I eventually lost the mass of flame and took time to get my bearings.

Looking towards me shield I gasped when I saw what was behind the dimensional wall.

It was Jump, I could recognize some of the buildings and I could even see the Tower, but there were no lights, in fact, there was no one there. The entire city was a wasteland, all blackened with soot as if it were bombed with napalm.

I looked on in horrified fascination for a few moments, before being rudely jerked from between dimensions.

Landing face first in my very real and intact tower bedroom I sighed in relief. Perhaps I was a bit rusty on traveling between dimensions after all.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

 _Come now, this man did unspeakable things, and you still are not angry._

The truth was I was very angry, in fact, I was furious. Despite my best efforts some of my worst memory came to light when I met wave after wave of assaults from different people.

Currently, I was beating the shit out of Cheng like I had inwardly wanted to when I took Xenothium off his hands, but this wasn't Cheng, everyone had to have some sort of anger management I suppose.

Suddenly as I squeezed Cheng as a constrictor he vanished and I turned back to a human. Heavy breathing filled the room and I was growing tired of this game.

"Listen, it's been fun and all," I said while trying to get my breathing under control "but I just want to know when I can leave."

 _Yes, after this one, this is surely to get a rise out of … no, no, this one, yes, you couldn't keep this from me, even if you wanted to._

I braced myself, but even with listening to all movement I still had something latch onto my shoulder, something big with teeth.

I flipped it over and one to the ground in front of me, a hyena lay there. I instinctively got space between it and me, but instead of attacking it merely shifted.

Standing in its place was an older man, in his early 20s and a wild grin on his face with blood on his jaw to match his crimson skin.

His silent domineer and predatory eyes gave me all the information I needed

 **Back with a new chapter, I swear the next will finish up The Prophecy and maybe two or three more until The End.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Oh there will be more, there will be more.**

 **Mochafraptor- So was I.**

 **Beakers47- Well has Raven ever been in a good situation?**

 **Slowly creeping up on 100k words, I bet we'll reach it by the 5th season, now that is going to be something.**

 **Until Next Time.**

0


	40. Chapter 40: Truths Unraveled Part: IV

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 40: Truths Unraveled Part IV

I heard blood splatter the wall behind me, I could feel the vibrations from the cracking of bones, I could smell the sweat dripping from both our bodies and I could taste the coppery crimson substance in my mouth.

Rage filled both of us, each fighting only because they hated the idea and memories the other represented.

I circled him in the form of a panther, he as a form of a cheetah, I had a limp on my front leg, constant beating tacked on to the dislocation. He sported more cuts but was favoring hi back left leg.

 _Who is this really, a brother, a relative, the similarities are disturbing._

Honestly, I didn't know who struck first, the reactions were instantaneous as we both relapsed to our training, what I do know is that his claws caused pain to shoot through my body.

As we rolled along the ground I found that we were hurting each other more by simply forcing them into the stone floor.

We both separated, not wanting to have our skulls bashed in and reverted to human form. He struck within a blink of an eye, a fist was all I saw before I went into autopilot.

Reflexes paved the way as strike after strike hit me, I was smaller, weaker and had a bad shoulder to my disadvantage. However, I had much more experience.

 _What did this man do to you to make you hate him so much?_

I shifted to a constructor and wrapped myself around his body. Tightening I reverted to a human to get a better hold on him. I, unfortunately, found myself using methods engrained into me that he would be most familiar with, he would also know how to get out of any headlocks done by legs.

Twisting around he pushed off me and landed on all fours, I was already on my knees when a knife came from nowhere, probably a holster located on his ankle if I recalled the location correctly. It came so close that I could feel the air currents ripple against my skin as it passed.

He changed from slashing to stabbing and within a few jabs I had caught the knife, the problem was that he still had an iron grip on it.

Him being larger and more developed it was safe to assume that he would be more than able to overpower me, but if I could use that against him…

Twisting the knife to the side so that I passed to the side I released me strength and his body went flying.

His grip loosened on the weapon and I began to pry it out of his hands. It was as difficult as I had thought it would be, but I was able to eventually pry it from his hand. Without even thinking about what I was doing and going on adrenaline and muscle memory I flipped it to my other and stabbed downwards with it.

An all too familiar feeling of metal striking flesh met me, and I saw that I had stabbed the knife right between the collarbone and neck.

The response was instantaneous, blood squirted from the pressurized veins and arteries, which landed on the closest object, which happened to be my face, and the older figure stumbled back. Gravity took effect as he and I fell to the floor.

It was only after staring at the body next to me for a full minute that I realized what I had done.

 _Such savagery, impressive, I have been amused by your fight._

A stone panel began to slide sideways against the wall and I didn't even wait for it to open completely when I got up and ran out into the hallways behind it.

I didn't care how long I went, I didn't care how far I ran, all I wanted was to forget, forget what had just happened in that chamber.

I came to a stop to catch my breath, sharp inhales and exhales reverberated off the stone hall's walls.

Then a sound reached my ears, one of running water.

I walked around trying to find the source and eventually came across it.

It was a relatively small pool of water, it seemed to be coming down through the ceiling and into the hallway. Drainage from the city or perhaps another source was more than like the case.

I bent down and cupped some water. I splashed the cool refreshing liquid against my face and scrubbed it rapidly with my hands. I looked down at them as I finished, there was only a bit of blood on them, probably mine.

I looked over the rest of my body, the scraps and cuts were all still there.

How much had been real, how much had been an illusion?

I let a deeply exhausted sign and let my back sink against the cool stone wall. Why couldn't I have just followed the team?

I suddenly jumped to my feet in alarm, the team! How could I have forgotten, I needed to find them immediately, there was no knowing what they were facing I thought as I ran through the halls. I ran and ran, not even bothering to morph into any animals.

Slade could have found them, they could still be wandering through the… the hairs on the back of my neck instantly stood on end and while I had no time to stop complexly I sent down on my knees and slid across the stone floor.

A blue beam shot only inches over my head before I came to a halt, I recognized the beam and put my hands in the air.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Cy… we all cool?" I asked in a faked startled voice.

Behind me, I could hear the powering down of a sonic cannon and as I got up I thought I had dodged an all too familiar *CRUSH*… Star-Hug.

I gritted my teeth as I felt my already weakened body ache in protest, but my arm was probably the worst out of all the pain.

Starfire could see that I was hurt, but only after I let my discomfort show on my face. Quickly letting go, I fell back to the ground and groaned when my shoulder collided with the floor first.

"Friend Beast Boy, you are injured." She said nervously."

I rolled my eyes and picked myself up "Thanks for noticing."

Robin appeared last, his face almost showing signs of relief that I was alright.

"What happened?" he asked, as always business first.

I rubbed my shoulder to try to work out some aches "Fell to the bottom and wandered around for a bit, all this if from the fall." I said, gesturing to my injuries, and while not all of them were from the same source it was close enough.

Robin nodded and started walking, the entire group followed suit "We've been walking for two hours, I don't know if…..." he was cut off when we turned a corner and a massive domed chamber open up in front of us.

Wasn't that convenient, I was just starting to get tired of walking.

A giant hand was constructed in the center and all around were giant statues which cloaked figures etched out of the stone.

"Freaky," Cyborg commented.

In the palm of the hand, a light rose up to the ceiling, which itself seemed to go on for ages.

"The gem," Robin said as he walked towards the hand, however, after ascending the steps leading to the palm, the group was confused when nothing sat here.

"It's gone," Robin growled.

"You must be disappointed." A familiar voice said as the owner walked out of the shadows onto the hand.

Slade stood there, hands behind his back and walking as if he was taking a leisurely stroll through a park and by the lopsided fight we were about to have he might as well have been.

"Where's the gem?!" Robin barked.

"Not here, but closer than you think," Slade responded cryptically,

Suddenly he threw out his hands and a wall of flame shot towards us. We scattered, avoiding the fire, but now we were divided.

Slade was on Cyborg before we even had the chance to regroup. His hands seemed to melt his robotic hand before he could even fire a shot. Luckily Starfire was fast and slammed into him, they both went flying into the stone wall of the chamber.

As a dust cloud gathered we all prepared ourselves and just as flashes of green were seen from the inside of the cloud, Starfire came crashing down in front of us.

"Damn," Cyborg mumbled as more flame came shooting out of the dust.

Robin charged, angry at seeing Starfire hurt, he threw multiple birdarages which exploded causing ice to form in the general direction Slade was.

I, unlike the others, wasn't about to run head first into danger without being able to see my opponent so I stalked around the dust as it settled. As it cleared Robin and Cyborg stood there, both of them looking for a foe that had disappeared.

It wasn't until tendrils of fire started to swirl around us that we became slightly worried. All three of them shot towards each of us. Robin threw cryogenic disks to freeze his and Cyborg tried dispersing his with a blast from his sonic cannon.

I didn't keep my eye on them for long because I was hoping I could outrun it as a Peregrine Falcon. I twirled through the air, but could only dodge so many times, I wasn't up to my full strength, as the fight I had before had drained it,

Things weren't so bad until the single large tendril split into 5 smaller ones. It took only a few minutes for me to be struck in the back and be sent flying to the ground.

I yelled in pain as my bruised and battered body fought to get back up. Looking for the team I saw that Cyborg had been forced down with Robin now throwing ever trick he had at Slade.

I growled and charged in the form of a bull. Robin looked over to me at the last second and jumped away as I drove Slade into the stone wall.

I pulled back only moments before flames in the shape of a dragon came towards us. Robin threw some cryo bombs to try and disperse the construct which did freeze it in place. I shifted to an elephant and broke through the ice causing the entire construct to crumble.

I had my back to Robin this entire time, and when I looked back, Slade stood there, Robin on the floor with smoke coming off of his costume, melts bits of Kevlar on the ground.

"Well, well, well, the last one standing, not really surprising, but, there's no sorceress here to help you, this time." He said while he cracked his knuckles, small bits of flame reverberating like sound as he did so.

"I'm going to enjoy this."

He held out his hand, fire materializing over it. The ground rumbled and while my instincts told me to move, I waited.

.

.

.

NOW!

I shot off my feet and into the form of a cheetah, out of two walls came pillars of fire. I didn't need to see the third as I could feel the debris brush against my legs as it crashed through the floor I had previously been standing on.

Everything seemed to slow down as I neared Slade, smaller spears of fire materialized behind him and shot towards me.

When I was close enough I lunged and shifted to the form of a snake. With that thin of a body, I weaved between the spears and shifted to the final form of a tiger.

Slade's fist was able to keep me from completely bringing him down. It hit me square in the chest before I was, in turn, able to bring my claws across his chest.

We both landed on the floor, ways away from each other, I turned back into human form to feel like a fist had been shoved through my chest not to mention the fact that I was still nursing a recently dislocated shoulder.

I tried taking in mouthfuls of air, but that didn't help and I only spit up blood. Slade got up and eventually, he stood over me, his body engulfed in flame. He raised a hand ready to deliver the final strike.

"Any last witty comment?" He asked.

I nodded "Just give me a moment." I said, I waited and found myself begging, I was right.

Suddenly a beam of black energy slammed into Slade. I grinned as it continued to slam against him, denting his armor.

"How's that for a witty comment."

Slade's body was thrown like a ragdoll across the room. He tumbled about through every stone object imaginable.

Finally Raven released him, his body badly mangled started to straighten itself out with sickening cracks. Getting up his hands lit aflame he stared down Raven.

I watched as Raven descended from the ceiling surrounded by her energy. Her entire body was covered with the crimson ruins, but she calmly approached Slade in a slow stride.

"I told you to leave them out of this." She barked.

"How sweet, you've come back to save your friends." Slade said "but you're only delaying the inevitable"

For a moment he seemed ready to attack but didn't strike.

"Well, what are ou waiting for?" Raven asked as she drew nearer and nearer to him.

"Aren't you going to attack, reduce me to ashes, or did you master forbid you from hurting me?" She enquired.

Now she was standing mere feet away from him "Did he order you to keep his gem safe?"

I heard the slow movement of feet behind me, looking over my shoulder I could see the team's faces with utter disbelief, the unspoken words hanging in the air.

Slade said nothing and just stared at her for a moment "I'll be sure to give him your regards."

He began to sink into the floor, his red energy pulling him down, but as he was finishing submerging Raven threw her hand down into the ground.

Pulling him up she narrowed her eyes "I'm not finished with you yet."

I cringed as I watched Slade bounce around the room like a bouncy ball. Rocks, rebar, concrete it didn't matter. I could barely hear Cyborg whistle behind me and I could hear Starfire say something in Tamaranian, probably something to X'Hal.

Finally, when she was finished Slade lay at her feet, beaten "You tell him that he'll have to destroy me before I help me."

Slade began to sink into the ground slowly and this time Raven let him "You can tell him yourself, the hour is near." He said right before he disappeared.

 **We're finished with The Prophecy, man that took awhile, but was it worth it?**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **Beakers47- Perhaps it was, after all the space between dimensions is…. Unique.**

 **Mochafraptor- Of course! Or were they phantoms?**

 **Pikachewy1- Yes, I was insanely tired when I put up the chapter and I have since then reuploaded it with hopefully most of the grammar fixed.**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Is it, though?**

 **Alright, on a roll again, I might take a break next week, but who knows, I'm really behind on my writing.**

 **Until Next Time**


	41. Chapter 41: Healing

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 41: Healing

"You are not keeping me in here for the night!" Beast Boy shouted as he struggled to take off all the monitoring devices stuck to him.

We were all there, I was the only one, besides Cyborg, that wasn't currently receiving treatment. Robin only had a few things to be dealt with, the majority cuts but a few deep bruises and Starfire barely had any injuries due to her species physiology.

"Cy, it's not that bad!" Beast Boy said as he struggled against Cyborg, who was now pressing his left hand down on Beast Boy's chest as he tried to configure something.

"You have multiple lacerations, bruised ribs, and a dislocated shoulder!" Cyborg cried.

"IT'S NOT DISLOCATED ANYMORE!" Beast Boy shouted as he turned into a snake to try and slither out of the medical bed that he had been laying in. Cyborg whipped his head around and tried to reach for him, but couldn't quite reach him in time.

He slithered out of the bed and on the ground. I rolled my eyes, I was tired from helping heal Robin and discussing my parentage with the team. I was not going to let this keep me from sleeping.

I raised my arm and levitated the snake who immediately when ridged.

"I'm going to put you down now," I said calmly "and when I do you better be seated in that bed because I am not going to stand here and listen to this."

I did just that and silently Beast Boy sat there as Cyborg went about his business. I had already told him I would need rest before I could fix Beast Boys shoulder so I swiftly left the infirmary with the other two titans and we spilt up to get rest.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

 _A heavy fog had rolled in over the compound. The weather made any air traffic impossible with the amount of visibility available._

 _I crouched in front of the perimeter fence while the spotlight from the guard tower couldn't see me, I still looked up everything the light reached out from the fog._

 _As I slipped through a hole in the fence in the form of a raccoon I looked around for any sign that I was detected. After reassuring myself I proceeded onwards._

 _I scampered up to the nearest building, it was a storage hanger for cargo that was to be shipped, outside there were plenty of men, all in military fatigues. They were moving munitions and supplies but were not interacting with the building I was about to enter._

 _I morphed into a mouse and searched around for an opening. Finding a good-sized hole in the wall I squeezed through to the inside._

 _Once in the main room, I looked around and listened, nothing._

 _Shifting back into a human I got a better look at my surroundings. Around me was piles of cargo covering in tarps._

 _I reached out for the nearest tarp and tugged bringing it towards me and throwing off some dirt and debris. Under the tarp were simple boxes, weapon cases, and crates. I reached for the nearest weapons case and pulled it towards me._

 _It was a rather bulky hard case; one would expect for heavy weaponry. Flipping the clamps on it I opened it, only to have my eyes widen I shock._

 _There before me was something I was very familiar with. There, in-between foam padding, shown the silvery silhouette of Mr. Freeze's Freeze Ray._

 _What the hell?_

 _I closed it and morphed my arm into a Grizzly's and pulled one of the larger crates open._

 _Inside was equipment that belonged to Green Arrow, every trick arrow imaginable, with anything from a net in the tip to a boxing glove. I shut the top of the crate a bit too quickly and moved on._

 _Opening a rather long case I raised an eyebrow at the sight of Aqualad's Trident, or at least what was left of it._

 _Next was Harley Quinn's mallet._

 _I opened what appeared to be a briefcase sized box only to find tens of different lantern rings, all seemingly dead or broken, it seemed as if not one corps wasn't represented._

 _The last one I opened was shallow but wide. Looking inside the first thing that hit me was the amount of joker playing cards, each of them razor sharp. Looking around I noticed some of the joker's best toys here, his signature Joy Buzzer, his acid shooting flower, there was even a Laughing Fish in there. What disturbed me was what rested on all of this, a golden belt, with a bat symbol on it._

 _I didn't have time to reminisce as I heard a door open and a light shined into the room._

" _Yea, all this is getting shipped out tomorrow, says he wants it as a person collection," Someone said._

 _I crouched down and pulled out two small boxes from one of the utility belt's pounces, placing there in between crates I quickly set everything back to their original places and began to leave._

 _As I did I looked at the two men who had entered the room, both wore black trenchcoats, but other than that they didn't have any markings._

 _Crawling back out to the fence and across I morphed back to a human, taking out a small remote I pressed the one sole button on it._

 _I watched through the fog as the tire building went up in a huge fireball, and from what I could gather from the flashing lights was that the entire base went on alert._

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I stood there in the doorway of the infirmary, but I couldn't bring myself to enter. It was around midnight and I had just woken up to tend to Beast Boy. Now I was here, I didn't even have my cloak on, instead opting to just go without it.

Now I was in the doorway, but I couldn't move, I was fixated on the only occupant in the ward. Beast Boy lay there, tossing and turning, sometimes calling out incoherently.

I suddenly remembered what Terra had told me months ago after we had returned from our adventure with the Beast, how Beast Boy had been restless in his medical bed. This seemed much worse than she had described, perhaps it had gotten worse.

I was pulled from my thoughts as he launched himself upright, his head swiveling around in every direction seemingly looking for something until he laid his eyes on me.

"Raven?" He asked, it almost sounds as if I child was asking the voice was so soft, his eyes seemingly laid on me a bit longer then they should, but just like that he relaxed and took a deep breath. Running his hand through his hair looked nervously at me.

"How long have you been there?" He asked nervously.

"Long enough," I said in my monotone voice.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked as if he knew the reason for me being here.

In part he was correct I couldn't fall into a deep sleep, but how did he know that?

"In a sense," I replied before I walked over to him. Going around him I looked at his back and placed my hand just above his skin. Cyborg had already taken off his uniform, but Beast boy had refused to wear anything else. One thing I noticed though was that his skin had droplets of sweat collecting on it, it must have been a really stressful dream then.

"What's the verdict doc? He asked jokingly.

I sighed, "It's going to take a bit longer than expected, but I'll keep it from beeing sore."

I nodded and she continued her work.

"Where did you go?"

I stopped for a moment, contemplating what he was asking, "Excuse me?"

He shrugged and I heard a small wince from him afterward "At the library, when you left us, what did you do and why did you come back?" He inquired.

I blinked for a moment but continued my work. "I went to my birthplace."

"Azarath."

"Azarath," I said confirming.

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence between us before he had to break it again.

"How did that go?"

I gritted my teeth. "Fine," I said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"What's it like, on Azarath?" He asked, I wasn't really expecting that kind of prying, but I didn't see any way to get out of this conversation without forcing another topic. Besides he would undoubtedly ask me again some time.

I tried thinking about it, I tried to compose some sort of answer that would shortly describe what it was like, but I was lost for words. It wasn't that simple.

"It's… peaceful… I guess that's what you get when it's filled with pacifists," I said, "there's no crime, no war, no hatred, but…"

He slowly turned his head around to see me "You never felt at home there."

I froze right there, the low light below my hand flickering slightly, in essence, that was exactly how it felt.

I shook it off "Yea," I said quietly "that's exactly how I felt."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the Titans are the only real place you felt at home."

I couldn't look him in the eye, instead, I looked down at his shoulder, it wouldn't be long before I could leave.

"If you don't mind me asking…"

"Well, it's not like it stopped you before."

He paused for a moment, but continued anyways "Is your mother on Azarath?"

Suddenly the light radiating off my hand disappeared and I looked up at him. For some reason I didn't shout, I didn't throw him into another dimension, I didn't tell him to mind his own business, I just stared at him.

"What made you think I even had a mother," I said quietly.

He shrugged "Seemed logical, usually takes two people, and you're not exactly all," He gestured to his face "always four-eyed and red, not like what we saw in Nevermore."

I nodded and the glow returned to my hand as I worked on his shoulder again "I'm not exactly the result of a happy marriage." I said softly.

Beast Boy only nodded.

"My mother was young and foolish, she got mixed up in a cult, one that worshiped trigon," I explained, "when they summoned him, she was offered to him, and well, I was the result."

"Arella didn't truly know what Trigon was at first, but when he revealed his true self he tried to keep her, but she escaped. Alone, on the streets and pregnant wasn't a very good combination and before I was born she tried to kill herself."

Beast Boy sat there listening, he seemed to take in every bit of information and file it away for later.

"The monks of Azarath found her in that state and took her in, I was born and raised and found my way here, the rest is history, that's at least the basics."

"And now your turn," I said.

"Hmm?"

"Your turn, tell me about your parents," I said.

It was a fleeting second but I caught it, for a moment his eyes glazed over, his figure stiffened and he said nothing, but just like that he was back with even a small smile on his face,

"Perhaps one day you'll meet them, they're heroes, jut a bit older, but I have another question for you."

"Shoot."

"How do you actually get to Azarath?"

I sighed, how actually explain it. "Well, I have to perform this ritual, it's rather simple, I've done it since I was a kid, but going between dimensions is the more tedious task."

"The problem with it is you need to steer clear of smashing through a wall separating you from all the other dimensions."

"And exactly what happened when you do?" He asked.

I examined my work and after nodding to myself I stood up. "I'm pretty sure you disintegrate if you're not ready, but…" I stopped going rigged.

"What?" he asked, now that I was in front of him he could see my figure go rigid.

"I saw something… the when I was coming back from Azarath, I was chased by forces of Trigon, and I was forced to skid along the dimensional wall, I saw through it."

He leaned forward "What did you see?"

I rubbed my arm subconsciously and turned slightly away "I saw… Jump, but it wasn't lively, every building was burned out, the city was completely destroyed."

"You think you saw the future?" He said, letting my own thoughts manifest into the open.

I nodded, and in turn, he stood up "Listen to me Raven, you aren't like your father, and there's no telling what you saw."

"But… it was so much like…"

"Was the bay lava?"

"What?" I asked confused.

He repeated himself "Was the bay lava?"

"Well… no, it wasn't, but the city was destroyed!"

He shook his head "When Slade showed us that vision, the entire sky was red and the bay was filled with lava, if it wasn't the same then don't worry about it."

I shook my head "But what if…"

"Raven," He said, slightly more forcefully to draw my attention "we're here, don't get hung up on what could happen."

I nodded before he sighed.

"It's really late," He said, "I don't know about you but I need my sleep."

Crawling back into bed he rapidly curled up in his blankets he didn't even register he was resting on his bad arm.

I frowned and turned away, heading back to my room and unceremoniously landed on my bed and drifted off to sleep rather quickly with thoughts of Beast Boy and a ravaged Jump in my mind.

 **And away we go! Been awhile, had to take a break, quite crazy these past few weeks and I just didn't have time to write.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- But… Beast Boy got his moped…**

 **Mochafraptor- Why thank you, I don't have trouble thinking out fight scenes but writing them is what is the most time-consuming.**

 **Beakers47- Would you rather me hold the reader's proverbial hand through the story? No, I'm gonna mess with all your pretty little minds.**

 **Fayari- Why thank you, here is your next one.**

 **Anyways I might be back next week, finals are rapidly approaching and I have LOTS of classwork to do so no promises until summer.**

 **Until Next Time**


	42. Chapter 42: Solutions

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 42: Solutions

"FRIEND BEAST BOY" I heard someone shouting.

I groaned and rolled over, I could barely hear myself think, it was too early to be trying to wake me up.

I opened my eyes but instantly shut them as blinding light reached them. A pounding headache was crushing my skull.

I hadn't realized I rolled the wrong way and before I know it I felt weightlessness and promptly fell down onto the ground. Along with the loud thud, there was the clanking of glass.

That's not right.

I slowly opened my eyes to what I thought was away from the window, it was slightly better, but I had to blink to adjust my eyes.

Looking down towards the ground I saw what had made the noise, below me were three bottles of what I could only imagine being Vodka. I leaned in to read the label a little more clearly.

"100 % proof, damn," I mumbled to myself.

Each of them was empty, I wasn't all surprised, when I was older it was nearly impossible to get drunk, which was most unfortunate when I really needed it the most. I assumed my body would be much more susceptible now thought.

Suddenly the door opened with a swoosh and I looked up to see a worried looking Starfire standing there.

"Friend Beast Boy are you injured?"

"Ahh," I mumbled as I tried to push everything under the bed, but unfortunately Starfire had rushed over to me and picked me off the floor rather roughly.

A flash of pain ran through me as the world spun and I had to close my eyes and take a few breaths to keep myself upright.

"What are these?"

Shit

I opened my eyes to see Starfire holding one of the bottles in her hand. She rolled it over, examining it her eyebrows furrowed. "What is this?" she asked nicely.

I quickly snatched it out of her hand, an action that resulted in my own discomfort, but I wasn't about to let Starfire hang onto any evidence.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." I snapped.

We were rather close together and there was no dought that she would smell the unmistakable odor coming off of me.

"But Friend Beast Boy, why are you so weak?" she asked nervously.

I scowled and walked slowly over to my bathroom with her hovering over me at all times as if I was about to collapse onto the ground.

I reached the door and placed my hand against the frame, I slowly turned around, I hadn't realized just how hard that was. My head was pounding, but I looked Starfire directly in the eyes. Raising my hand and sticking my index finger directly at her I spoke.

"Not a word of this to Robin, not a word."

She bobbed her head up and down rapidly and looked at me like a dog would look at a human about to give it a treat.

"Or anyone…"

Once again she bobbed her head.

I groaned "It's alcohol, I had a rough night last night." I said while I also tried to remember what exactly I did last night.

"But we were together last night, we all talked about how to help friend Raven." She said rather innocently.

I waved my hand "Yea, after that… listen I'm not supposed to have that, so just tell Robin I stayed up late last night."

She was about to speak again but I stopped her "I want a promise Star."

She nodded slowly this time but spoke up right before I was about to speak again, a question I really didn't expect to be asked

"But why?"

"Hmm,"

"This substance, it does this to you," She said gesturing to me "why drink it?" she asked.

I blinked, for a moment I couldn't think of an answer for someone who didn't have the same problems.

"It helps." Was all I could muster.

"With what?" she responded.

"Forgetting."

"Forgetting what?"

"I don't remember," I said before I closed the door.

I listened closely to hear if she was gone and as the steady rhythm of feet striking floor slowly drifted off into the distance I let out a sigh.

A quick strip and a rather hot shower and I was already feeling much better. Then as I stood there with the hot water striking my skin I thought about what Starfire had asked.

" _Forgetting what?"_

I guess it should be a simple answer, after all, I would really like to forget nearly everything, but I didn't remember what I had thought about specifically. I guess it was a testament to how effective that stuff was, I was lucky my system corrected itself so quickly. However, I tried not to dwell on what I had once remembered, I was here and had much bigger fish to fry.

But there was one question that I had creeping in my mind since I saw the bottles. Where the hell did I get them?

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Where have you been?" Robin asked as I walked into the common room. Robin sat lazily at the table with a few folders, while Starfire tried to talk with Raven who was trying to read a book on the couch.

I ignored his question and went to the kitchen, quickly whipping up a tofu sandwich I felt myself cringe as I began to eat it, why did I have to like this stuff when I was young. I half-mindedly set out a kettle and heated some water.

I was pretty sure no-one would notice, besides I actually needed this, it always helped. I really didn't care if they noticed or not, I could care less if it got the now light pounding out of my head. I added the proper herbs to the tea and walked over to sit down.

Across from Robin, I took another bite out of my food.

"Beast Boy…" Robin said again, ever so persistent.

I nodded and raised my hand as I chewed, I couldn't even have fresh tofu. Finally, I swallowed and motioned him to continue.

"What were you doing sleeping so late?" He inquired.

"Overslept," I stated as I took another bite of tofu again.

"It's nearly noon."

"I know," I replied while taking a sip of tea. It was perfect, one learns to brew tea with minimal resources in the wilderness. Here, with all the types of herbs to play with, it was total freedom.

"Um, Beast Boy?"

Oh, here it comes.

"You now that…"

I tried to take another gulp as fast as possible.

"You know that's tea, right?"

A mouthful of liquid launched itself from my mouth. It was spectacular, the projectiles flying over the table and Robin made a tactical withdrawal with his papers as to not be caught in the rainshower.

Afterward, I looked at the cup I had poured it into suspiciously as if I were a detective examining a piece of evidence at a crime scene. I actually tried channeling a bit of Robin.

Raven, whom had closed her book and began to watch closely, now stood up and levitated the cup out of my hand.

She glared at me as if to say 'How dare you to touch my supply of tea' and continued over into the kitchen as Robin and I feverishly tried to clean up the mess I had made.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as he seemed to consider pouring out the batch I had made, but after a few seconds of hesitation, she poured a bit out into a new cup.

Cautiously she brought the tea up to her mouth and sipped at it, then again, and once more after that. She calmly put the cup down and walked over to the table where Robin and I had just finished cleaning.

"Beast Boy." She said in her classic monotone voice.

"Yeah, yeah Raven, I won't touch your stuff, I'm sorry, but…." But I was cut off by her.

"How did you learn to make tea?" she asked.

I shrugged "I didn't I just kinda zoned out as I was getting stuff, I didn't even really real…."

She narrowed her eyes "Tomorrow you're going to make it again, and you're going to make it when I say so, understand?" she said a bit forcefully.

"Um, why?" I asked.

She closed her eyes and took a breath "I have been trying to blend those ingredients for months and it's always awful, but you made it perfectly."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly "Probably just a one-off."

She narrowed her eyes "I mean it." With that, I got the message that I wouldn't be able to get out of this easily.

I was about to try to make my case when the door burst open and Cyborg came rushing through.

"Gotadothisgotadothisgotadothis." He mumbled as he raced around the room cleaning off every object.

Faster than anyone there thought possible he had cleaned up the kitchen, but in doing so snatched up the tea and proceeded to empty It into the sink. Along with the tea, Robin's folders were also scooped up and were probably going to be deposited in his room at some point.

Before Raven or Robin could even shout at him he was out the door once again.

Such were the effects of the Maximum-7.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Cyborg couldn't seem to keep his energetic rampage to himself. As if a young man on his first hit of cocaine he effortlessly swept through his 'impossible list'.

Honestly, why would a man have to have so many things to do, I could understand it's important to keep busy, but Cyborg was taking it to a whole new level.

After getting dragged into and winning another round of gaming I retired to my bedroom as I wasn't in the mood to be wasting time on meaningless pastimes like that.

However, before I could even go to work in my private dimension I was struck with the sounds of alarms going off in the tower.

I groaned loudly, I hadn't expected Bill Numerous to be causing trouble so soon. At least allow me some downtime before.

Yet, here I was running towards another situation that was beyond my control. Robin gave us the briefest of informational meetings and we were all suddenly off to catch a 'Hillbilly Human Copy Machine'.

We all shot off towards the city. Raven, Starfire and I all flew as Cyborg and Robin drove along in the T-Car.

The scene was just like before, shattered windows, a few small fires raging around, but nothing the emergency services of the city couldn't handle. I always wondered how much of the city's budget they took up.

"Well, well, well, looky here," Billy said as he faced us. Cyborg and Robin got out of the car while the rest of us landed.

"Alright, let's wrap this up, I got to coach little league in a half an hour," Cyborg said to the group as he started forwards.

"Whoa whoa whoa, not so fast there hombre, at that rate…" Suddenly he duplicated into ten more Billys "There'll be enough of me to go around."

Before Cyborg could even react they swarmed us. A crimson tide charged right for us.

In the shape of a Gorilla, I swept wave after wave of Billys and watched as Cyborg was the main target with the most Billys dogpiling on him.

Starfire and Raven were constantly forced to fly higher as the clones worked together to climb into the air and reach them. Robin seemed to be doing rather well, all things considered, perhaps they thought he wasn't as much as a threat.

Then suddenly the clones slowly began to phase out of existence, we were suddenly standing in the middle of the street with destruction surrounding us.

We all gathered together in the center of the street. Each looking around wildly for the real Billy.

"Looks like you'll be missing that Little League game." Raven deadpanned.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "C'mon, we got a human cloning device to catch," Not quite as catchy as Hillbilly Human Copy Machine, but it worked.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

You'd think teens would be able to stay up longer, it was nearing the sixth hour of searching and Starfire had just bit the dust, along with a light pole.

Robin looked beat and Raven let out the occasional yawn, but I could see the telltale signs that she was tiring. Cyborg chugged along, blinded by the need to catch the elusive criminal, in a way he appeared a bit like Robin.

As Robin went to pick up the downed Tameranian, we all stopped and waited. "Listen, Cyborg, we need rest."

"No way man, we're so close!" I rolled my eyes, in reality, we were no closer to finding Billy than we were 2 hours ago.

"If you want to continue on then fine, but the rest of us," he said while he looked to Raven who nodded "are heading back to the tower."

"I'm actually going to stay," I spoke up, while Robin gave me a concerning (as much as he could) look.

"Alright, just… don't push yourselves."

 **I guess I took April off really, I apologize for my absence but I've had finals and projects and more work… Let's just say I haven't had time to write.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **Beakers47- But what fun would that be.**

 **TheDimensionalReader- What exactly do you mean 'divine narration'. I reject that statement as BB had to work hard for that moped, he blew up a building.**

 **mochafraptor- Why thank you sir.**

 **That's all for this week, enjoy it and leave a review. I don't know if I'll be back next week, it's kinda iffy.**


	43. Chapter 43: Mindfulness

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 43: Mindfulness

"He was right you know," I said as I watched the others fly away.

Cyborg grunted behind me as he fiddled with a small screen on his arm.

I turned around to face him, but he still had his eyes glued to the screen. "You shouldn't push yourself."

He said nothing as he shut down the panel. "Did you hear anything I said?" I asked again, mildly annoyed

"Nope," he said with a resounding pop before he started to walk down the street. Walking with him I frowned "If we're going to catch Billy, then we're going to have to work together, and that means listening to what I have to say"

"You shouldn't push yourself like this," I said.

"And what keeps you from doing it?"

"I…" I suddenly stopped, a thousand words would have come out if I hadn't, but now wasn't the time, nor the place to reveal exactly why.

"I'm here to look after you," I said with full sincerity.

Suddenly Cyborg's wrist began to beep. Looking back down at it, he frowned.

"A small explosion was reported two blocks over, numerous people in Red were seen there." Before I could even formulate a plan to share with him he took off leaving only a cloud of dust in his wake.

Shifting into a cheetah I sprinted after him, only to find him fighting off ten different Billy's. They dog piled him just as before and even though I ran after them even managing to catch a few fake ones with an armload of cash I couldn't stop them from getting away.

"Arhhh" Cyborg yelled behind me while he looked down at his arm and adjusted a few more settings.

It continued that way till early morning, ATMs, jewelry stores, even common mom and pop shops weren't safe. Cyborg and I would go around and try to find him for hours before stumbling across him and once again losing him. But that all changed once he tried to steal from Jump Central Bank.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

The mental stability of Billy humorous had been questioned by many people over the years. The ability to make clones of yourself would decentralize even the most stable people.

Even now on the run and with the attention of the entire Titan team, with two actively hunting him others would ask if he knew what he was getting into.

The consensus would probably be no.

"Heh heh be look at all this gold junior!

"You know it Billy"

Overwhelming the night guards had been simple enough, the problem with banks was getting out the one way you came in, especially with hundreds of clones of yourself.

Billy had thought of that, sewers were old friends, they helped him move cargo without being seen, but the manhole outside seemed very interesting. The only downside was the gas main that ran within it, but that wouldn't be a problem

Gathering all the fallen guard's guns, the Billys opened the vault. it took four of them to turn the heavy wheel and another four to pull it open without electronic help. As soon as it was large enough to slip through a chrisom tide of clones flowed into the 'impregnatable' vault. Rows upon rows of golden bars lined pallets. it seemed as if they cast a soft golden glow over the entire room with their magnificence.

A few of the Billy's began to wipe their eyes as lone tears fell down their faces.

"Beautiful."

However, the crowd knew they didn't have much time and it seemed as if as soon as they stood there they were then removing the bars of gold.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, the amount simply grew. Like a colony of ants, they began to form a line out of the vault. None of them seemed to ponder that they should be looking straight ahead, instead they all were too busy greedily staring at their newly acquired treasure. It was a miracle that they could find the vault door at all, but all too soon they were halted.

When the first Billy was knocked back, he not only sailed all the way to the back of the vault, he knocked the ones behind him backward in the most ridiculous human domino effect.

"Put your hands in the air, you are under arrest" Cyborg droned.

"Good Robocop impression," a rather tired looking Changeling deadpanned next to him.

It was near instantaneous pandemonium. The great Billy Numerous would not have been stupid enough to go into the vault himself. Instead, he was outside, hiding among the various furniture.

Before the two superheroes could do anything about it, twenty, thirty, perhaps even forty clones appeared around them. It was all too simple to distract each of them. Separating them in the room and then stealing the rest of the golf was all too easy.

As the clones began to escape, both superheroes ran after them, and only until they were outside did they realize that they were using the sewers to escape.

Beast Boy was the first to dive in, turning into a rat he fell right through the hole. Cyborg followed suite. Out of the dirty muck came multiple chrisom figures and soon they were all in a massive, inconceivable struggle.

The sewers were large for a major city, two walkways separated by a river of sludge. During the fighting Beast Boy was throw into the polluted river with multiple Billys struggling to keep him down. He had no idea that a certain sonic cannon had gone off and had decided to randomly hit a certain gas line until it was too late.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

The first thing that came to my head was 'Why did I hurt so much?'

My face and body were pressed up against a very rough curved wall. For a few moments, everything was a haze, there was dust in the air clouding my vision and a few burning materials were scattered throughout casting an ominous glow on the enclosed space.

Where was I again? The smell was wretched, it practically burned my nose with its stench of human waste. Sewer? What was I doing again? I lifted my hand to the throbbing in my head only to be greeted with something warm and sticky. I was so tired I just wanted to sleep.

"Analyzing."

That voice, so robotic in nature, so cold. I instinctually went for anything on my utility belt but was shocked when my hand, moving on their own through muscle memory only, grasped for air.

I could feel my heart beating against my chest, I could almost cough from the polluted air.

"Increased heartbeat detected, acquiring target."

I watched as a blue laser scanned the open cavern, it was mapping out the area from top to bottom.

I didn't wait around for it to reach me first, instead, I ran.

"Halt!"

I didn't look back as I shifted into a cheetah, but without proper vision, it was very hard to get going. A blue projectile flew over my head before I could get very far, but it impacted a few paces in front of me. I seemed as though there had been a cave in and I was now trapped with one of these machines.

Falling into a fighting stance I readied myself, one I could possibly defeat, but if it called for backup…

Another blue beam impacted next to me throwing me off balance, I didn't want to be attacked at range so I charged forward in the form of rhino. I spotted the glowing blue silhouette and made it my target. It must be a new model as they had never used blue as a color before.

Ten meters… Five meters… One meter… Impact!

I was able to drive the android into the wall before it got off another shot, but it was much stronger than it appeared to be. Pushing me back he threw me into the ground, I landed halfway in the sewage which caused the foul liquid to be thrown all over the walls.

Despite my desire to do nothing but lay on the ground and writher in pain, I forced myself to change. A python wrapped itself around the torso of my opponent, before twisting causing the tangled mess of flesh and metal to tumble to the floor.

I got on my feet before he did and jumped on its chest. If I could get to the power source…

"Beast Boy…"

I looked up only to see a familiar face, one I hadn't seen in a long time, Cyborg's. Then I remembered, I suddenly feel heavier, like I was in twice the gravity I should have been. The rush, and desire to survive were now gone.

"You have severe lacerations on your body, and a wound on your head, immediate medical attention is required."

I rolled my eyes and stood up to get off him, but it only proceeded to make me nauseous. My vision blurred and I became very light headed. It wasn't until I felt two robotic hands support me that I was finally comfortable enough to close my eyes.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Why is it that we keep ending up in here?"

Sometimes Robin just needed to get over the fact that in this line of profession people got hurt, a lesson he should have figured out from his days before the Titans, but perhaps it was a little too harsh of a lesson.

I was currently seated on one of the exam beds. I wasn't laying down, but I had a few wrappings over my cuts and a rather large bit around my head.

"You were lucky that you don't have a fractured skull," Cyborg said as he finished dressing my wounds.

I raised an eyebrow "No Mr. Robot, what happened to 'I don't need to sleep'."

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Yeah, I ran a diagnostics when we came back and the chip was putting too much stress on my systems, specifically my life support systems, so I axed it."

That was one way of getting rid of the problem.

Raven spoke up by now "He won't be needing his chip anyways, we found Billy, it wasn't like he was trying to hide."

I was about to get up as the rest of the team moved towards the door, but they all turned around in what I could only assume was a rehearsed move. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Couldn't help myself from trying."

With that they took off towards jump in the T-Ship without me, heading towards a foe that even I couldn't really consider as very dangerous. Not that he didn't have the potential to do serious damage, but he lacked the malice.

Billy numerous was the most uncommon common thief, he had no interest in blowing up cities, or acquiring nuclear weapons. He just wanted more money, the greedy bastard.

I slowly made my way back to my room, they never said I couldn't leave the infirmary, but that didn't stop each step from hurting.

When I finally got there, I was exhausted and decided my planning could be put on hold for tomorrow. I had to be ready, the true test would be coming. With that, I climbed into bed and promptly fell into a restless sleep.

 **Oh, my God, a chapter, it's like a unicorn these days.**

 **Yes, I'm back, and ready get rolling with this story again, I just had major motivation issues after school, I didn't want to really write anything, but here we are, I'm gonna keep updating and get this damn thing done one of these days!**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **mochafraptor- Yes, yes it has been too long.**

 **Beakers47- Godzilla… hmmm…**

 **And let us all now take a moment to honor our fallen. The Dimensional Reader…**

 **K-K-K-K-Kombo Breaker! That's what happens when you miss a review.**

 **Sorry I've been planning that forever now.**

 **So that's it's for now folks,**

 **Until Next Time**


	44. Chapter 44:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 1

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 44: The End of the Beginning Part:1

The one thing I hated about my room was the window. That night for some reason I hadn't closed it, and because of my mistake when the first rays of light rose about the city I was brought back to consciousness.

My hand lay beside my head and accenting the golden rays were red runes. Jolting upwards I stared in disbelief. I quickly threw the sheets off my body and ran over to my mirror, the runes hadn't disappeared.

Today was the end of the world.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

After throwing on some clothes and cleaning up, I needed to go for a walk to clear my head. I wandered aimlessly on my floor. Without being able to meditate this was basically the best I could do. I absent mindedly walked around, I briefly came out of my thoughts when I had to choose if I wanted to go to the roof or further into the base.

I wasn't too keen on seeing the final sunrise of earth so I opted to take the latter.

I couldn't tell how long I would continue like this, I hadn't bothered to check the time, but I do know that when I reached the lower levels I couldn't think because of a constant thumping noise the background.

Looking around and noting that I was close to the gym and I might be able to catch Robin at this hour I started towards the noise and found myself in the gym.

To my surprise I found a bare-chested changeling beating some poor punching bag senseless. I raised my eyebrows at this, I had never seen Beast Boy in the gym or anywhere near anything remotely involving physical activity outside of Robin's combat training.

The ferocity which he attacked the bag was almost disturbing. He seemed to be like Robin with lighting fast jabs and kicks that sent the bag flying. If I had been more of an expert in Robin's fighting style I would have said it was disturbingly similar. Suddenly it all stopped and examining his stance he seemed to have punched a hole in the bag.

I felt slight something I could only classify as slight amusement as he silently struggled to pull it back out. Once he examined it and shook off some material I could see that he had no gloves, I couldn't really see but I could guess that he wasn't smart enough to wear them and would now have bruised hands.

Suddenly he went rigid, the same way an animal freezes as they feel as though something is wrong. Slowly he turned to me, a completely unfazed look on his face.

"Well you're up early,"

It seemed as though the best possible way to play this off for him would be to consider it as nothing out of the ordinary. I was prepared to oblige, no matter how awkward it might have been.

"Couldn't sleep." I lied,

If he could detect any trace of faltering in my voice he didn't reveal it, he simply quickly bent down and gathered up some water and a t-shirt.

"Want some breakfast?" I asked half-heartily, never did I think I would say that to anybody, especially him.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged, what's worst that could happen?

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Apparently making tea does not make you any better at cooking.

As Beast Boy prepared my tea as per my orders (He never made it as good as the first time, it was surely his first attempt was on accident) I tried, emphasis on tried, to make pancakes.

We literally had pre-made batter, I read the instructions, let the pan heat up, put down some butter, and a few minutes later my first batch was on its way to being as tough as beef jerky,

"Raven," Beast Boy said as he hastily set down my tea and ran to the stove, "You have to actually flip them once and awhile."

Taking the spatula from my hands he gently pushed under the blob that I had just created. He flipped it over with such grace that I just had to ask,

"Since when have you actually cooked anything?"

He snickered, I was awaiting a more snob response but he instead just continued with the food. After pulling off the last of the slightly burnt he turned to me with the plate.

"Not bad, needs a bit more of a steady hand from you but I'm sure we can fix that, besides its always better to make your own batter anyway."

Setting the food on the counter he poured only enough batter for one patty. Handing me the spatula he guided me on how to flip them without sending them across the room or causing half the food to be stuck to the pan.

After the third batch, I was a proficient pancake maker something I never thought I would be proud of, and Beast Boy then sat back and watched as I continued. It was then that I asked him again.

"Where did you learn to cook? All I ever see you eat is cereal or tofu."

Looking over my shoulder, the green changeling was resting against the counter behind us. He had his arms crossed and was watching me with such focus I could almost believe he was a professional cook teaching a learner.

"I've picked it up here and there, I did have a life before the Titans." He said with a blank stare on his face.

Curiosity got the best of me and I briefly looked for some sort of emotion coming from him, but there was nothing. This was the second time I wasn't able to feel anything from him and it was starting to perplex me to no end. There were two logical explanation.

One, he was some sort of paradox, an anomaly. He couldn't have real emotions, but this didn't line up with when I first met him. He had been bursting with emotions, I guess I just blocked them out over time and I wasn't actively trying to identify my team's feelings anyway.

The second which was the more outlandish theory was he actively repressed them, which also conflicted with first meeting him. He hasn't read a book since to my knowledge and any other theory was simply too outlandish. This was Beast Boy after all.

"You might want to flip those." Beast Boy spoke up snapping me from my thoughts.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin had seen a lot, in his opinion he had seen too much, but if someone had told him that there would be a sight today that would take his breath away he would have put money on the sunrise.

But after his adventure to the roof had finished he headed back down to the common room. On his way, he linked up with Starfire, who was going on about some new fashion in Jump City. Robin tried listening, but it wasn't like Starfire was going to change outfits, especially after wearing the same one for years.

Cyborg also joined them, he was too busy looking down at a screen on his wrist to socialize.

Upon reaching the door of the common room they were all greeted with the smell of fresh pancakes. Not overly unusual, Beast Boy might be making something, but opening the door, the group was met with a sight that would be etched into their memories for all eternity.

Robin had seen a giant crocodile, psychiatrists with fear gas, and even a walking, talking refrigerator in his time as a crime fighter, but this, this took the cake.

There quite casually sat Beast Boy at the kitchen island, eating a healthy (or rather unhealthy) stack of golden pancakes. On the other side stood Raven, who was using her dark energies to control a spatula to flip new pancakes.

It was like watching a cat chase a dog, a submarine flying through the sky, a certain speedster he knew just walking on his own not in a rush to get anywhere. Everything in that moment seemed to be wrong, Raven cooking for Beast Boy, or cooking at all? Earth-Shattering.

The group just stood there for a moment, taking in the sight before finally walking slowly down towards them. As if approaching the bomb the group shuffled forwards slowly, not knowing what to expect from, what they considered at the moment, to be a ticking time bomb.

"Morning, pancakes?" Raven asked as she turned around with another plate of golden paddies.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes, his processors working overtime, just what was going on here?

Robin was just as confused "Um, what's the occasion?"

"Can't I just do something nice for my friends?"

All of them slowly sat down and took one of the golden saucers. Looking over at Beast Boy they all saw him lazily eating his own food. Nervously they all took their own bites, then another, and another.

Before Raven could turn around they all had their plates in front of her.

"Friend Raven, this is the most exquisite meal, we must have more."

It would be hard to notice but at the edge of Raven's lips, the slightest of curls appeared. However, before more batter could be put down Robin's communicator activated.

Flipping it open with almost superhuman speeds he raised an eyebrow.

"Plasmus was found last night, unconscious, it seems Red X might have been involved, they say they found evidence."

Robin stood up, and the others followed, except for Beast Boy, Raven was almost out the door before she noticed.

"You coming?" She asked, the usual blank look on her face,

"Yeah," Beast Boy replied as he wiped his mouth and walked with them.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Robin will you please eat your pizza."

Sitting on the roof of our favorite pizzeria we were all enjoying three large pies, everyone that is but Robin. Robin barely touched his pizza as he was too busy studying a large red X in his hand.

"It just doesn't make sense." He said as he flipped the projectile in his hands.

"What doesn't make sense is how you aren't enjoying this delicious pizza," Cyborg replied as he ate another slice.

Shaking his head Robin finally set down the object. "It's just that it doesn't fit his style, he had nothing to gain and the suit wasn't even build to combat Plasmus, but you saw his body, he's lucky to be alive."

"Jeez dude, just eat your pizza and be thankful you didn't have to get goo in your precious hair today," I said as I took the final bite of my pizza.

Next to Robin Starfire laughed "Yes Robin, perhaps you should be grateful, you spend more time putting on the gel of hair than a glorg does eating Zarnics."

Starfire continued to laugh as Cyborg and I joined in, little did they know I actually met a glorg and their appetite was, is… unsettling. The entire team was relaxed, no fight, no arguing, even Raven seemed to cheer up a bit.

It was all just a little too perfect.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Once we were finished we continued onto the park, just like last time it was a beautiful day. White clouds, blue sky, birds and small animals roaming about. Raven lead the way as we walked aimlessly just enjoying ourselves while we looked for a good place to sit.

It was common knowledge in Jump that the team would come here, but today not a soul could be seen. Whether it was the time of day or the fact it was a weekday I didn't care, it was nice and quiet.

The penny was still there, apparently, that was a necessary part of history, even the date was the same, 1964.

This time, as my commotion stopped our caravan of heroes, I was actually able to remember the poem.

"Find a penny, pick it up, all the day, you'll have good luck!"

The rest of the group rolled their eyes at my antics before Cyborg had to ask if she wanted to play Stankball and Starfire asked if she wanted to paint toenails.

Looking on now the signs were all there; everything Raven did that day was out of her usual character. Perhaps we were all just too blinded by the possibility of Raven opening up.

As soon as she was questioned by Robin she turned away just like last time.

"I just want everyone to have a nice day today, c'mon we have a lot to do before sunset."

Just like last time as soon as those words left her mouth a shadow began to crawl across the surface of the sun. Slowly the daylight began to dim and all of a sudden it felt like it was twilight.

Ravens form wavered, a gasp escaped her lungs as red symbols began to run up and down her body. Soon she began to fall and once she hit the ground she didn't bother to get up.

As we all rushed over to her, Cyborg tilted her up. Surrounding her Robin asked the question on all our lips "Why didn't you tell us?".

Starfire spoke up behind him "Please Raven, today is the day?"

Raven nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"The End of the World."

 **Whoa, another update? It is the end of the world. Trivia, why is 1964 important? Leave your answers in the comments. Speaking of comments…**

 **The Dimensional Reader: After speaking with the Counsel of Shadow they have agreed to reinstate your streak as you were distracted by the same things as the author, Sir this a second chance, use it wisely.**

 **Mochafraptor: What happened to weekly updates? They're back baby!**

 _ **Folks this guy is the one who gave the 100**_ _ **th**_ _ **review..**_

 **Chaotic Cosmic: 3 Days Damn son, but I can't say anything I binge read all the time. Thank you for the compliment sir, basically this story is critiquing time-travel stories. As for Raven and Beast Boy, you will learn patience. Damn Star Wars references in the reviews of a Teen Titans Fanfic, that's impressive.**

 **All I can say is that this is probably going to be around 4 parts long so get ready for lots of fun. Alright folks see your next week.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	45. Chapter 45:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 2

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 45: The End of the Beginning Part:2

"Where are you taking me?"

As we went through the multiple layers of concrete and steel encasing to the safe room I couldn't help but wonder why Raven hadn't noticed the major renovations going on in the lower part of the base. Perhaps she didn't get out as much as I expected and simply stayed shut in her room for the last few weeks.

Robin led the way while Cyborg carried Raven, leave it to the big brother to do that.

"You said there was nothing we could do, we didn't agree," Robin said as he swiveled his head to look at her "So we've been preparing for this day."

What he didn't mention was that it was mostly Cyborg and him who did all the research and work, Star and I were just muscle and I wasn't about to compromise my knowledge by mysteriously suddenly showing knowledge in ancient runes.

As Robin ran his hand over the scanner I rolled my eyes. So many resources had been wasted on this room only to have Raven walk out of it on her own free will. Really didn't seem like a good tradeoff if you asked me, especially when we never used it again, well we did use it again once.

As we stepped in the room I watched as Raven looked around in amazement "You did all this for me?" she asked, as if no one had ever done anything for her before.

Robin stood with his back to his brainchild, the kid really picked up on the important things from his mentor, like posing. "We're ready to take on Trigon."

It was almost humorous thinking back on it. Four misinformed kids trying to take on an interdimensional demon, kind of out of our league.

"No, you can't be, just go, save yourselves." It wasn't like we had anywhere to go though, we didn't exactly have the ability to travel at an interdimensional level, what exactly could we do, fly to the edge of the universe and hide in fear for the rest of our lives?

"We're not giving up, neither are you, our plan is simple," He said as if it was the easiest thing in the world "Raven you are the portal, Trigon needs you to take over the earth…"

"But if Trigon can't get to the portal, then he can't take over.," Cyborg explained with a small grin.

"So all we must do is to keep the Trigon from getting to Raven," Starfire said naively.

Raven sighed, just as I had been for the last few minutes. These people had no idea what they were getting into, and to be fair, last time I didn't either.

"You can't,"

"We will," Robin said with as much authority behind his words as he could muster.

As we brought Raven to the center of the room and started to explain the security features I zoned out. I wasn't exactly into the whole 'there's never been a villain we couldn't stop before' speech. I just sat back and watched the fireworks happen.

As the others began to leave I was brought back to the present. Before walking out the door I turned around, Raven was just standing there, arms crossed and looking at the floor. It was kind of a depressing image and I couldn't say that I didn't feel for her.

"Raven!"

She looked up just in time to see and catch the penny which was flipped her way. Eyeing it she looked up at me with a confused face.

I nodded "Trust me it has nothing to do with luck."

Turning away I was ready for the night's festivities, I just needed to make a quick pit stop.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Convincing Robin you couldn't fight demons without a potty break was something that was easier said than done, however after getting the final go ahead I found myself heading straight for my room where I was able to make the final preparations for the night's entertainment.

Melting into my mirror I made the final touches on the ritual before me. A pinch of salt there a bit of powder here and eventually it was finished.

The ring itself was nothing special, a special blend of powders, however, the crystals involved were some of the most expensive things I had ever bought.

A few rubies, emeralds, and other rocks I could barely pronounce the names of were procured through the small shop in the city, a special credit card from the Doom Patrol had its perks, not to mention they were extremely rich which made sure they wouldn't notice 50 grand disappearing. However, that one was rather difficult to get ahold of.

With the centerpiece, there was only one place you could procure that, a few black market deals were what it took to get that beauty.

The stone in question was about a foot and a half long, by about 6 inches in diameter. Its shape was two hexagonal pyramids with their bases together creating a diamond shape. It had to be this large and cut out of some enchanted stone, even I didn't have much information on that.

I even had a proper containment vessel for it, a glass case which stood it on its tips. The case itself was on my workbench, next to the every-so-slowly-being-built powered version of my suit.

It seemed so slow going, it really wasn't this hard in the future, but when you don't have the full Batcave at your disposal… well, let's just say it's a bit harder than it looks.

Nodding to myself I returned to the command center overlooking Raven. I couldn't even begin to get settled before the alarms began to ring. The rest of the team took off down the hall past me and I shook my head.

Couldn't I get a break?

Ω¥¥¥Ω

There was something thrilling about freefall. The rushing air, the sting in your eyes, the inevitability of watching your end rapidly approaches. Most people would bring a parachute with them, I'm not most.

I was the slim minority.

As we fell to the ground off the roof of Titans Tower we could see Slade waiting for us down below. Landing before him Robin pulled out his two nightsticks.

"Slade, we're ready for you."

"Give me the girl." Strictly to the point as usual.

"No way," Robin responded, almost robotically.

"You really don't have a choice in the matter." Slade said, "I'm taking her."

This time I knew better than to ask with what army, but that didn't change the fact that hundreds of demonic soldiers arose around us.

 _So it really was just bad timing._

"Attack!" With that one command, the entire force rushed forwards, an almost organic wall of flame washed over the team as we each fought for our survival. All that is except for Robin, he really didn't do the whole fighting minions thing, instead, he just had to go for Slade and just as predictably he was beat back without mercy.

I really wasn't about to let the Beast loose again, not after the last incident with him. Instead, I opted to chew through the hordes of fire with a T-Rex. The rough hide of the beast made it optimal and chewing up demons only seemed like eating spicy Doritos to put it crudely.

I watched as Starfire continually bombed the masses with green explosions and Robin hacked and slashed through them as well. It wasn't until I saw Cyborg hooking up to the tower's Power systems that I decided I wanted to get out of the way.

I could only think of a few times I ever saw Cyborg transform like this and each time it was not a pretty situation, but each time I could always feel a sense of amazement as I could never bring about such destruction.

The blue flash that followed was magnificent. A path of destruction was left in its' wake, the fleeting thought to what would happen if a passing ship was hit filled my mind before it was brought back by a lone figure standing before us.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

" **Your friends cannot stop the inevitable, they are doomed**."

The cavern I stood in was awash in flame, and even though I wasn't there I could practically feel the heat.

"Please, father, I don't want to…"

" **You do not have a choice!** " He roared, it seemed as though the entire cavern shook as he shouted.

" **Why do you think I sired you?** " He asked, " **You are the portal, and if you do not help me, Earth won't be the only world to fall to my forces.** "

" **You know what must be done, and if you go willingly, I may just let that pathetic realm you love so much alone.** "

I closed my eyes, I was completely trapped, no way out, I would eventually succumb to Trigon's forces and damn two worlds, or go willingly and have the possibility of saving one.

"You can't hide from your destiny."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Maybe it's time for a tactical withdraw guys," I suggested as the tower's internal defenses would be more help. The entire army of flame re-emerged before us and I really wanted some help.

"Are you suggesting we retreat in the heat of battle." Starfire gasped, Tamaranian were proud warriors after all.

I rubbed the back of my head "Well no so much that as advancing in the opposite direction."

We didn't have much time to argue as soon we were once again in combat. Shifting into the form of a Triceratops I plowed through their lines like a bulldozer. I really wished I could morph into more advanced forms but my body wasn't old enough nor was it conditioned to do that.

Instead, I had to deal with hundreds of fire demons who were seriously messing with my day the only way I knew how, crush, trample, eat, chew, repeat, or at least that was a simple way.

I finally noticed that Cyborg was the first one captured, after blasting through the first wave, he barely had any energy left. I couldn't exactly see how it happened but I was sure that there would be ten demons involved when I heard the story,

Starfire was plucked from the sky next. She had a very simple but effective strategy, bombard from the air and wing it from there. I couldn't blame here, even with super strength and near invulnerability, it wasn't like she was immune to pain.

For being the most human of us, Robin was impressive, he kept cutting a path of destruction through the crowd, not taking a moment to rest. At least until I got to him.

Shifting back down into human size I back up to him, we stood back to back in with endless foes in front of us and I couldn't help but feel, comfortable. It was so familiar, so ingrained in me that I was ready to make any move in a seconds notice, I was hyper-aware of my teammate behind me and I was ready to face another insurmountable odd as if it was just any other day.

"You ready?" Robin asked from behind me, I cracked my knuckles in response.

"Always."

We weren't able to begin however as a familiar voice shouted out "STOP!"

Robin watched in amazement as the rest of the team was deposited in front of us. The army backed away as a lone figure emerged from the tower.

Slade came to the forefront of the army waiting for her response. It wasn't surreal watching it over again, I had thought about it many times when I was younger, it was just another memory playing out in front of me.

Then as Cyborg and Starfire were straightening up Raven uttered five words that shattered their worlds.

"I will go with you."

Robin rushed forward, his desperation to save a member of his team was admirable, it wasn't a surprise all things considered.

"We won't let them take you."

Raven shook her head "I can't hide from my destiny any longer."

Then the pain hit me, it was strange, I remembered it being much more painful, agonizing really, but this, this was merely a tickle. I felt myself being lifted into the air and quite roughly thrown onto the ground.

It was then that darkness filled my vision.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

As I stood underneath the giant dome situated above the chamber I couldn't help but feel. Sadness, anger, confusion, hate… fear, to be honest, it was too many emotions at once, and I couldn't distinguish. All I was certain of was that this was it, the moment I have been dreading for my entire existence.

I pulled the penny out of under my robes, clutching it in my hand I took a last deep breath before walking towards the center of the chamber. I guess I wasn't going to be spending this moment alone as the entire army was here.

I couldn't even begin to ascend to the top of the giant hand before explosions rocked the ground behind me. I could easily make out green and blue beams cutting through countless soldiers. Shaking my head I Cast out my hand and banished the army, it was only me and the Titans now.

"It has already begun, there is no stopping what is meant to be," I said, couldn't they see, there was no other way.

"You're ready to give up everything? Just because of some prophecy you heard as a child?" Robin asked waving his hands "What if it's wrong?"

I sighed "Robin, I know what I know."

Before he could respond I threw up a barrier, one that would keep them safe, but also keep them from interfering.

"I tried to make up for this day and along the way, I made such great friends," I said as I watched their expressions. Robin seemed angry, Starfire was looking shocked, Cyborg seemed like he was ready to try to break the barrier and Beast Boy didn't have a readable expression on his face, instead, he was entirely neutral, not a single emotion.

"Now as my friends you have to let me go." I finished as I turned away and began to ascend the tower of stone.

"The gem was born of evils fire, the gem shall be his portal, he comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal."

One doesn't really think about the moment before they die, but I would say that it stretches out. Every moment stretching before you and all you are left with is the anticipation.

I could feel myself being ripped apart, in such a slow and agonizing way. My mind began to blur, any thought I once had is slowly faded, the last thing I recalled was the slightest weight falling from my left hand.

That was the day the earth ended.

 **Well we're just rolling along. I apologize if there're a lot of typos, it's 1 am and I'm a bit tired so… sorry.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Your sir better watch your attitude.**

 **Mochafraptor- Don't hype too much, I'm excited, but not that good of a writer.**

 **Beakers47- Long time no see, thanks for stopping by, we're all excited.**

 **Chaotic Cosmic- Why welcome back, I'm not having problems with updates, I just have other things taking up more time. I've never even heard of Landon (I think) and well, tell me how many characters outside of the original show you have seen yet… hmmmm. Also BB wouldn't get pointed out by Trigon because of the cloak made by Malchior, and well no comment.**

 **Alright 1964 Drum Roll Please….. 1964 was the year the Teen Titans appeared in comics. Brave and the Bold #54, their own comic came out in 1965. You can see similarities in the 1964 comic in Young Justice, but hey it was cool they added the date to that penny for hardcore fans. And you guys thought I just wrote it in, the date is actually 1964 in the show.**

 **And on that bombshell, leave a review if you would like, it always helps.**

 **Until Next Time**


	46. Chapter 46:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 3

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 46: The End of the Beginning Part: 3

Usually, when the sky is any other color than blue, something bad is happening. If it's red, then something really bad is happening.

I groaned and rubbed my chest as I pushed myself up from the rough ground. I really wasn't thrilled about being back in a literal hell on earth.

As I looked around I remembered we had been strewn across the city last time, I was currently residing on the ground in an intersection.

Stone statues of civilians surrounded me, like wild undergrowth of a jungle, the tall destroyed buildings acting as the trees. All of them were dressed for a good time, being late at night all of them were completely oblivious and were only looking for a night of carefree relaxation.

Morphing into an eagle I flew high into the sky to overlook the city. I remember feeling numb, like a being pumped full of anesthetic, the entire world gone. Now, I didn't feel anything, not when I needed to be at my peak, I had been here and survived before, I could do it again.

I looked for the spire that we had met at before, morphing into a hawk I flew up above the city. Dodging some cranky four eyed birds I reached my destination. The only problem was there was no one there, the roof was empty.

I twisted around, looking for any sign of my team. My heart hammered in my chest, what if I screwed up? What if my meddling caused them to be lost like the rest of the world.

I couldn't do this alone.

Just as I thought that I saw, hanging low over the city, a black cloud glided across the tops of buildings. O stared at it, I had never seen any cloud like it before. It moved and swayed in ways I never thought air current could make clouds move.

And then it got closer, and closer until I could finally make out the small specks making it up. I quickly ducked down as the entire flock flew around me over the tower. I could feel a few talons strike me on the arms and chest, but I kept my head down at all costs.

When the sounds of flapping wings no longer resonated I stood up, it was time to get to work.

"Friend Beast Boy!"

I spun around so fast I could have broken my neck, instead, my ribs once again were nearly broken by a new Star-hug. While in this human sized vice grip I looked over her shoulder to see Robin and Cyborg.

"We've been looking all over for you man, don't you know you can't just run off during the end of the world!" Cyborg said while waving his finger.

I shrugged and gasped while Starfire let go of me. Composing myself I gestured to the landscape "So this is it,"

Robin nodded, but at the same time, he smirked. I raised an eyebrow, what had him so excited?

"Raven left us a departing gift." He said as he raised his hand revealing a flame of dark energy. Apparently, it didn't take them long to figure that out. I guess I got over the novelty of having it long ago.

Starfire suddenly became visibly excited "Yes, and our power grows stronger if we stand together!"

Suddenly she joined hands with Robin and Cyborg. Gesturing me to come forwards I looked up with them. Dark energy surrounded us, a sphere of energy was created in the center of our ring. Not wanting to make a scene I disconnected with the rest of them, the sphere then disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

Each of the team unlocked hands and sat stepped back. "What was that?" Cyborg asked.

Robin no suddenly didn't show any emotion "An advantage."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Whatever you do, don't attack a giant interdimensional demon who is currently regaining his strength on top of your old base. Unless you're the Teen Titans, because we did just that., and it went just as well as the last time.

Starfire bombarded him with starbolts, Robin went for the legs, and Cyborg and I continually sent high explosive rockets directly into his face, but each had no effect.

We all headed to one island on the lava filled Bay together. Robin with the loudest voice he could muster shouted to the red behemoth in front of us. "Trigon! Stand up and fight!"

" **Insignificant insects, "**

"I think it's time to hit him hard."

I rolled my eyes, Robin was just the apex of bravery. Locking hands we all felt the energy flow between us, a power greater than each of us on our own. We started to levitate off the ground, the black ring of energy floating around us as we began to chant Raven's mantra.

"Azarath, _Metrion,_ **Zinthos!** "

A black sphere of energy appeared before us, the sheer size of it was incredible, nearly half the height of the T-Tower I would say. We all shouted as we threw the massive ball of energy forward. I looked on hoping it would do the job.

Instead of hitting its desired target, Trigon simply held out his hand and stopped the massive sphere from touching him.

" **You may think it wise to attack me while I gather my strength, but as you can see, not even a farewell blessing from my daughter can help you.** "

We all watched in horror as our own sphere can back towards us. Hastily we raised a shield but that didn't stop us from being launched back towards the city.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

"Man of all the places to crash and burn, why'd it have to be here?" Cyborg asked.

I groaned as I picked myself up, I didn't really enjoy colliding with the ground at breakneck speeds, but I guess I was just going to have to deal with it.

"Please," Starfire said as she got up, "I wish to leave."

"And go where? The whole world is toast and the only person who would know what to do is…"

The sudden depressive feeling came over the group quickly "We could really use her help right now."

Robin slowly walked over to the massive abyss now in the ground where the massive hand used to be.

"I know what I saw, but somehow I can't believe it." Robin said as he kicked a small piece of concrete over the edge "it just doesn't feel like Raven's gone."

"That's because she isn't," An oily smooth voice said from the darkness.

Everyone turned to the source of the voice and emerging from the shadows, Slade once again was in the presence of the Titans. Except, this time the mark of Scath didn't grace his forehead.

Robin didn't seem to e as he threw an assortment of explosive Birdirangs towards our masked adversary. The resulting concussions threw Slade off-guard just enough to not be able to dodge the sonic blast that hit him straight in the chest and threw him back into the wall.

I watched as the man I had come to know to be indestructible struggle to get off the floor to which he fell.

"What's the matter Slade, giving up already?" Robin taunted.

As Slade found his footing I could almost hear him sigh "Sorry to disappoint you Robin, but I'm not here to fight, I'm here to help."

Apparently Starfire didn't want to hear that as her eyes glowed green as she charged up two Starbolts. "We do not need your help."

"Yes," Slade stated as he brushed himself off "you seem to have everything under control."

He then turned to Robin who was still ready to launch a barrage of explosives if need be. "However, Raven can still be saved."

Starfire seemed to have enough of his talk as she sprang forwards and grasped him by the collar "You will not dishonor our friend with your trickery."

"Whatever you're selling we ain't buying."

"Think of me what you will, but what Trigon did, even I wouldn't wish on this world."

"It's a little late for sorry Slade." Robin said through gritted teeth.

"You mistake my generosity for regret Robin, I only offer my assistance because it suits me."

Slowly Starfire set him back down as her eyes came back to their normal color "But we saw Raven become the portal."

"Raven has fulfilled the prophecy of her birth," Slade explained "that part of her existence is complete, but another part still remains, for the moment.

"Why are you doing this, what's in it for you?" Robin asked, why don't you just pull him aside and interrogate him, sometimes Robin could be a little bit of a hard ass.

"My reasons are my own, do you want your friends back or not?"

"Just tell us where she is, and we'll take it for there," Cyborg said, the scope of the task probably wasn't registering with him yet.

"There will be no we, this is a journey only one of you can take," he explained, "I don't think you realize that Trigon is all seeing, you must keep his attention on you if this plan is to succeed."

"And how do you expect us to do that, we already had our butts handed to us."

"It's the end of the world," Slade stated as he crossed his arms "did you think it would be easy? I don't expect you to win, I don't even expect you to live, only to endure."

He began to walk towards the abyss, I remember seeing him do this once before, before a similarly impossible task.

"I'll go with you," Robin stated matter-of-factly.

Turning his head, I could almost imagine a smile appear on his face. "That sounds great Robin, volunteering for such a task, but only one of you will be coming with me." Slowly he turned and stuck out his index finger at me.

"Beast Boy, ah c'mon man, you can't be serious." I raised an eyebrow at the Cyborg next to me who quickly raised his hands defensively. "No offense or nothing."

"Beast Boy will be coming with me, otherwise… all bets are off."

Stepping forward I nodded "I'll go."

The one eye still visible narrowed, but he nodded holding out his hand he opened his closed palm to produce a golden ring.

"Take this, it might be able to withstand him, for the time being."

Robin reached forward to collect the small object, as he did we all came closer together. I felt a hand slap my back and turned to see Cyborg with a small smile on his face.

"It may get ugly, but don't worry we'll keep him busy."

I nodded and began to walk towards Slade. Instead, Robin stopped me and held out his hand. "I know you can do this." He said. I took his hand and nodded.

"Your goodbyes are really quite touching, but we have work to do." With that, I looked at the team one last time before following him.

At the edge of the abyss, I noticed something on the ground, it had gleamed in whatever light was still left. Bending down I saw what it was, a penny, the penny.

I held it there in my hand before turning to the team. "I'll bring her back; you can count on that."

With that, I descended the spiraling stairs down into the darkness with a former enemy at my side, my team behind me, and a demon dominating the world. Just another day saving the world.

 **Well hear me out its not my fault. I had trouble with my ISP for a few days, then I had family matters and come last Friday I wasn't in any position to post, so… here.**

 **Beakers47- Well thank you sir, you must wait and see.**

 **mochafraptor- *Sigh* You may commence hype when ready.**

 **Chaotic Cosmic- *Cracks Knuckles* Nightwing was technically in S2E1 How long is Forever (That's how we're sure he's Dick Grayson. And the Doom Patrol are in Season 5 with BBs backstory. I have mentioned others out of context, but yeah that's my track record.**

 **Chris Galo- Well we got binge reader here. Our usually schedule is Fridays but as you can tell sometimes that doesn't work out.**

 **Alright guys that's if for this week, I'm trying to do this justice as this is my favorite Season. Hopefully I'm doing good. Sorry for any typos, I really only spot checked.**

 **Until Next Time**


	47. Chapter 47:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 4

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 47: The End of the Beginning Part: 4

As we descended into the depths of the earth I looked up the spiraling hole we had come down. Every so often as I gazed up the light dimmed ever so slightly.

When we finally found ourselves on a flat plane we walked along the convenient paths carved into the sides of the walls.

Robin's descriptions truly didn't do this place justice, even though we were underground it seemed as if the rocky cliffs went up of forever.

As we continued walking I found myself with the obvious question, the elephant in the room that had to be acknowledged.

"So, why me?"

For the briefest of moments Slade stopped and turned to face me, "You're going to ask that question?"

"Of course," I said, "Robin would have been a much better choice if you ask me."

Narrowing his one eye he continued walking "Really?"

I nodded in response "Let me ask you this, why would I choose Robin when I had a much more… qualified participant at my disposal?"

I arched an eyebrow "I don't see how I could be more 'qualified' one this matter than anyone else."

"Well, if we're going to play this little game then let's get our cards on the table then," Slade said in a bit of an annoyed tone "you're different from the others Beast Boy, ever since Terra I've noticed… it"

I said nothing, only allowing him to continue. "Somewhere you changed, I don't know how, I don't really care, but since when are you even remotely capable of fighting me."

I clenched my fist, but I didn't respond, I didn't know exactly what he did, but in any case, I had the ultimate trump card.

"I didn't want to mention this, but your… purchasing habits had me worried to awhile, going around to the black market… now that's low for a Titan like yourself."

"What exactly are you implying Slade?" I snapped, I didn't know where this was going.

"I'm not implying anything boy… at least not yet, but you're not the boy I fought with before you met Terra, _that_ is for certain."

As we rounded the next corner we found ourselves in front of a giant gate. A mark of scath gracing its face.

"I wouldn't imply anything too hard," I said while pulling in front of him.

"Wouldn't you agree that Wilson is such a nice name?" I asked him while turning to look in his eye.

In an instant, I saw enough emotion to surpass what I saw with the Titans.

"Now, would we like to get moving," I said as I gestured to the doors.

As he positioned himself to push against one of the sides he spoke: "I was going to warn you about what we might find, but I have a feeling that you won't be needing it."

"You're damn right," I said as we both pushed against the doorway.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Sometimes after pulling some sort of crazy stunt, then hours later I would think back on it… and decide it was a completely and utterly stupid idea. However, sometimes I would think just that in the moment and this was precisely the time.

Diving from Starfire's arms at a few hundred feet over a bay full of lava and a demon sitting on our home base was bad enough, getting his attention only made things worse. Not that freezing someone's head wouldn't get their attention, but a gigantic demon, well that seemed to take the cake.

As I passed by his head and down towards the lava I felt Starfire's arms wrap under my arms. We pulled up just far enough from the lava to still feel the scorching heat radiating from it.

Landing on a small island near the tower all three of us stood there and watched as the giant thrashed his head around trying to break the ice. Suddenly a beam of fire shot out from his mouth, melting the ice and heading straight for us.

I rested a hand on Starfire as I felt her flinch as a torrent of flames flowed over our red shield.

As the flames died down we were greeted by a neutral look from Trigon "You carry a ring of Azar, no dought a gift from a former minion."

Sitting down he waved his hand "Fighting you is benefit me."

With his eyes glowing the ground below us glowed and before any of us could move red beams shot out.

For a second there was excruciating pain, then nothing. Breathing hard I looked around to see three new figures.

Laughing Trigon stared down at us "I may be the source of all darkness, but you are your own worst enemy."

Launching forward the darkened clone of Cyborg smiled, "Raven wasn't the only one with a bad side." It was only an instant later that I saw our Cyborg being thrown into the city.

I nodded to Starfire who launched herself into the sky to deal with her counterpart leaving me as the last one.

Looking at me opposite he pulled out two very similar cylinders. "Shall we begin?" He said before charging at me.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

As we sailed along in our small dingy I couldn't help but feel envious of Slade. He probably couldn't feel the heat rising from below us, being a skeleton and all. However, I wasn't about to carry his heavy frame with me across this chasm with a chance of falling, and I think he felt that way too.

"I see your arrogance has improved." He said dryly as if to comment on the very idea I was thinking. It wasn't hard to guess I was staring at the distance before us.

"I wasn't about to carry dead weight with the risk of falling into lava, not that it wouldn't be the first time for you."

He exhaled deeply as if to restrain himself from throwing me off the boat. "I'm not ignorant to your disdain for me, but I am unwilling to fail and I need help to be certain of success."

I rolled my eyes "I don't hate you, Slade, I… understand."

"Really, and just what do you understand about me?"

I mentally kicked myself for putting myself in this situation, I had to throw him a bone here, but what to do?

I awkwardly looked out into the river of lava in front of us, reminiscing on past missions and losses wasn't going to do me any good. At the same time though, we were more alike than even I was comfortable to admit.

"I understand the drive, the unbearable urgency to succeed…" I started, "I.." But the response was cut short as I ducked just fast enough to miss a flow of lava shooting past my face.

It looked like we weren't going to have this conversation after all.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin always thought he was a good fighter, most opponents he met would say so, even his teammates told him so. He had fought opponents better than him though, his own teacher for instance and for a fleeting moment he thought he really was fighting him, but then a foot landed square on his face and he instantly knew the tread was different.

He had memorized his teacher's.

Wiping some blood from his split lip, he spat more from his mouth. His opponent didn't even seem fazed though as if it were the simplest thing in the world to fight the one-time sidekick of the world's greatest detective.

"Tired already Robin?" He asked with a smile as he circled him, as a shark circles a prey that was bleeding.

"C'mon, you've taken worse just starting out…" He said as he launched himself at me.

A fist came up to strike my chin, but I deflected it and countered with a kick straight to his stomach. Suddenly, with the air pushed from his lungs, the shadow stumbled back.

"I haven't forgotten," I said as I advanced, unable to fully recover, he simply tried to block as I launched a flurry of attacks. He was faster than I had anticipated as I launched a powerful kick forward which instead of striking the side of his head, it instead caused a bit of concrete rubble to crumble.

Turning to see him he leaned leisurely against a concrete pillar, his arms crossed over his chest as if he were relaxing on a nice summer day. He wasn't even breathing heavily like he wasn't in the middle of a deadlocked fight.

"Look at you…" He said, taking note of my heavier breathing "Been relying on your team too much?" He asked.

"That has nothing to do with it." I shot back.

He made a ticking noise with his lips and wagged his finger, "Now, now let's not lie here, I would think you would have relied less on them, after all…"

I didn't give him time to continue as I connected a now extended bow staff with his chest. Twirling it in the air I grinned at him.

To my surprise the slightest of chuckles escaped his "Now I remember, that's why you were so enthusiastic to go after Raven," He said with a smile "You couldn't bare to lose another teammate."

I audibly growled and swung once more, only to have it blocked by an opposing staff.

"That's right Robin, you didn't tell them, did you, how do you think they would feel?" He asked with a grin as he pushed against my staff with his own "How do you think they would feel being your second attempt, not very special is it?"

Disengaging I continuously swung at him, only to have my strikes blocked every time. In the distance, I could hear explosions throughout the city, and I could hear the clashes of two Tamaranian above.

Noting my quick glance at the sky the grin on his face grew into a sinister smile revealing almost inhumanly white teeth "Oh yes, you know what, I call Star, you can have Barb, deal?"

A quick strike to the face was the price he paid for that comment, but I couldn't do this forever and I found myself wishing Beast Boy could find Raven Faster.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Must go faster, must go faster.

Slade and I hoped across random islands of rock among the lava flow. The heat seared my skin each time I landed closer to the molten rock, but I didn't have much time to think about it.

We had defeated the first wave, but only found ourselves faced with countless more demons rising in their place. On the bright side, we were making fantastic time.

It wasn't long before I could spot the end of the vast space we were trying to cover. It wasn't even an official doorway, simply a crack in the wall.

Just a few more islands and we would be home free. However, fate would see to it that we would have more problems before we could finally escape.

I heard the cracking and collapsing of rock before I even saw it. Slade had just landed behind me on one of the last rocks. I quickly turned around to find him plummeting towards the lava beneath us and before I knew it I had shot out an arm to grab him.

It was reactionary, simply reflexes, I hadn't been too successful at changing just individual body parts since I was in my older body, but here I was hoisting Slade back up with the arm of a squid.

We didn't have time to discuss it as we swiftly jumped across to the few remaining islands. Slade made sure that the creatures wouldn't be able to follow us, but I didn't think that destroying our only know way out with explosives was a good tradeoff.

As we stood there catching our breath I looked at the man I knew would come to know better in the future. Even with most of his weight being supported by the wall and not himself, I saw a determination that spoke levels of what this man could do if pushed hard enough.

"So, specified morphing, that's new," Slade said, pulling me from my thoughts.

I frowned "Yeah, yeah it is." I said as I pushed myself up and began to walk towards who knows what.

 **Next time in our adventure… will the Titans succeed against their dark sides, will Beast Boy and Slade have any more challenges on their journey through hell, and will the author update in a week or a month? Find out next time on** **Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum!**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- WALK OF SHAME… SHAME… SHAME! Nah it's all good.**

 **Mochafraptor- Calm that Hype sir!**

 **Beakers47- Did you like this sir? And thank you.**

 **Chaotic Cosmic- I highly suggest you go back and rewatch the show, it still holds up today, if Cartoon Network would televise that instead of garbage *Cough* TeenTitansGO *Cough* I think a lot more people would enjoy that and learn from it. Quality cartoons with lessons and meaning are few and far between nowadays, I went back and rewatch it and I picked up on themes such as Racism, Puberty, or simple lessons like working to succeed. As for doing, I consider it anime… I'm going to have to say no, it does borrow heavily from anime, (ironically its set on the west coast), I would be a fool to think otherwise, however since it was produced in the US and retains more American Cartoon themes and only Anime themes artistically I would have to say not anime, instead Cartoon.**

 **Now for excuses. I've been having some trouble the last few weeks. My laptop died out on me, don't worry I have my files, I actually have backups on flash drives and other places. So I've been without personal Word and the fact that Harvey delayed my new laptop from Amazon didn't help at all.**

 **So ill see if I'm here next week.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	48. Chapter 48:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 5

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 48: The End of the Beginning Part: 5

Watching Slade succumb to one of the most basic forces in existence was humorous if not a little worrying. I slid down the cliff to where gravity had brought him down hard.

Slowly Slade got up, and gingerly brushed himself off. "You must be delighted to see me this way, desperate, weak vulnerable."

I looked around, an arched bridge to our right looks awfully familiar to what Dick had told me about.

"You don't need or deserve my pity Slade, it's not like I enjoy it either," I said.

Gesturing to bridge and the path cut into the rock cliff beyond I spoke again "Looks like this is it, don't let us down."

I had already started to turn away when he spoke up again "Look at you, all grown up, seems like you're the one who's going to be one step ahead of everyone else now."

I stopped for a moment and contemplated saying something, "Someone has to be."

With that, I left without looking back and without missing a step.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

It seemed like forever that I walked along with only two walls of rough stone for a view. I never thought I would be so delighted to see a large cavern with lava for a floor, but here I was after what felt like hours of walking.

I scanned the horizon to only see it filled with spikes of stone shooting up out of the lava, there was no way that I could deviate from the path, so I continued on.

I remembered the six torches very clearly from Dick's story. I mean who forgets about pillars made of faces? Dick had said they turned into demons, so I was surprised when nothing happened as I passed the first two, but I began to worry when the faces started to dance.

The slightest of laughter filled the air as I passed each of them. The faces all swirled in the soft looking materials forming the pillar, each of the faces would only form for a few moments then disappear into the mass, but I could swear some of them looked familiar.

When I looked back to my path I stopped dead in my tracks.

In front of me was a creature dressed in a cloak so black it seemed to pull in small amounts of light around it. It hung loosely off the creature, but that may have been because there was little to nothing there.

From what I could see, his hands had almost nothing but skin and bones, there were a few tendons that were very visible and watching them contract and expand was repulsing, however, the face was worse, much worse.

Perhaps lack of face was a better description as there were no eyes, no ears, no nose, not even hair, there was nothing except that smile. The lips cut into the face of this creature all the way up to where the ears might have been. Razor sharp teeth interlocked and as I grew closer, the smell of vinegar and sulfur filled the air.

"Greeting Garfield Logan, we've been expecting you." He said, his pasty white skin curled loosely as he spoke, as he did all the faces on the pillars seemed to repeat 'expecting you' over and over again.

"So what type of challenge is this, I am in a bit of a rush," I said crossing my arms.

"Ah, but we've been waiting, ever since tasting that single drop, we've waited for the rest of you." He said his smile stretching even further than I would believe possible. "You've proved your strength, now we wish to test your mind."

I rolled my eyes realizing the connection to the pit under the library "I don't have time for this" I said as I tried walking past him. Instantly its shriveled hand shot out to stop me, it never touched me, but it came within millimeters.

"If you do, you may never get what you came here for." It said. I glared at the creature but nodded for it to go on.

Licking its lips it began a very long winded question

"You are called to your house on a Monday to find fellow police officers and detectives standing around your dead wife. She is on the floor facing the door and face down. A rather large knife sticks out from her back to the left of her spine.

They question the neighbors one by one, one was at the grocery store, one was weeding his garden, one was wood-working in his garage, and one was doing the dishes.

The police are stumped, but you know immediately who did it." The creature smiled, its teeth having cut its lips causing blood to start flowing.

"So, who did it? For a man with your… talents, I would think this would be easy."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin truly didn't understand this creature.

He thought he knew his dark side, his training should have prepared him for this, and yet he hadn't.

"C'mon boy wonder, show me what you got."

Another cold metal object struck the side of his face. Disoriented, Robin tried to counter, to put up his own bow staff to block, to do something to keep upright. However, that wouldn't be the case as he felt a kick to the other side of his body.

Crashing into the rubble his body ached, it was a struggle to keep his vision from blurring and to push himself off the ground. He noticed that the lens on one side of his mask had actually been torn off, leaving one of his eyes exposed.

"Tsk Tsk, look at you…" He said as Robin pushed himself to a standing position. As his vision finally came back around he saw his opponent standing here against a bit of concrete.

It wasn't like he was without his own injury's though, there were a few bruises and tears in his uniform, but essentially he was fine.

"You know, with this performance, how do you think he would actually want you to take up the mantle, hmm?"

"You know as well as I that…"

"…deep down you want it." He shot back as he began to circle me "You just can't wait for the day where you can take it from him, the first time you put on that cowl," he said as he imitated the motions of doing so "the helpless look in his eyes when you make better decisions than him."

"How many of our friends got killed because of him?" He asked, actually getting slightly angry now.

I didn't say anything and pulled out a cylinder from my belt. Extending it, a sword formed in my hands, roughly as long as my arm.

"They weren't our friends.." I said as I charged him "They were mine!"

Ω¥¥¥Ω

The crippled body of that creature still laughed as I passed by it.

"Yes," He chuckled as the wheezing noise he made still reached my ears "you haven't changed a bit." I heard before I was out of earshot.

Before me was an almost identical replica of the church Raven and I had used to hide from Slade. The only difference was the state of decay. It became more prevalent as gentle red light trickled in from the broken windows onto the debris and destroyed furniture within.

I walked through slowly, the sound of glass crunching under my feet. I felt as if I was being watched, but perhaps that was because of smell. Everything here smelt discussing, the stench of decay was prevalent in the air, but there was something else. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but no sooner than I had reached the end of the pews I saw a flash of movement in the corner of my eye.

Reaching blindly, I caught a piece of cloth and stopped it in its tracks. Robin had only told me vague details on this part of his journey, but I remembered Raven being a child for some reason.

"Raven?" I asked as I tried to see her face, but instead of responding the figure tried to kick me in the chest. Simply sidestepping the move, I reached for and threw back the hood on the person.

"Let me go!" A smaller, and angrier version of Raven said as she tried to get out of my reach, but I made sure I could hold on.

"Raven, I need you to calm down," I said as I tried to keep hold of her.

"Just leave me alone!" She said as she finally wiggled out of my grasp.

"Demon!" She yelled before running through a hole in the church's wall.

Perplexed, but not deterred I went after her. Following her down a flight of stairs that were carved into the rock I tried to resist the urge to morph into something faster, I didn't want to scare her anymore. I guess it was good my skin was green instead of red though, that would probably have been disastrous.

Raven!" I called out to her, but she continued to run until she took a hard left. Reaching the turn, I changed directions to find a cliff. Shrugging I jumped off.

It wasn't much deeper than the height of the tower, but I made sure to try to slow my descent by sliding against the wall.

Reaching the bottom Raven sat there, probably having stumbled or fallen down. Practically all of both her legs were covered in scrapes or cuts.

"Damn Rae," I said, as I approached her.

Instinctively she crawled backward, but not very far. Kneeling down to inspect the cuts I nodded, they weren't disastrous and nothing seemed broken. "you could have hurt yourself."

"H… how do you know my name?" She asked I looked at her in astonishment, it took me a moment to remember she had no memory of me. So, I gave her a warm smile.

"I'm a friend Raven," I started "I came to get you out of here."

"People don't have green skin." She pointed out and I chuckled.

"Yeah, people usually don't." I said, before taking a slight bow "Garfield Logan at your service." The words took a few moments to build in my mind and saying them seemed more alien to my tongue than speaking Ancient Greek, but I needed her to calm down.

"Garfield…" She muttered, Then I mentally kicked myself, "You knew me as Beast Boy."

She looked around, it was almost frightening how small she seemed, not just physically, but mentally. The Raven that existed less than a day ago had been reduced to this scared child.

"You're not a… demon?" She asked with a bit lighter attitude.

I laughed "If I was a demon I would have had an easier life."

Holding out my hand I offered her a small smile. "I can get you out of here."

Looking at my proportionately large hand she hesitated for a minute, before gently reaching out and grabbing it.

As both of us got up I looked back up the cliff we had both just come down.

"I don't suppose you have your powers," I asked, in response, she looked at me dumbfounded.

I sighed, "Alright, don't freak out."

In an instant, she jumped away from me as I had morphed into a pterodactyl. I knelt down, low enough for her to easily climb on. Hesitant at first, she eventually did climb onto the massive creature before her.

Flying was much better than walking. Unlike Slade, Raven was quite light, due to the fact that she was a child instead of a fully-grown adult, however, I still kept close to the ground so if we had to bail we wouldn't break our necks from the fall.

As we passed the church I noted that the pillars and creature had disappeared, not taking a second glance, I pushed on to where Slade and I had taken separate paths. That was when the earth split.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin gritted in pain as his opposite self-merged with him again. It wasn't an easy victory, he could tell something was wrong with his leg and his left wrist had already begun to swell. However, he would have to put off treating his injuries because, in the distance, he could see clouds from the impact of starbolts and missiles.

Even as he made his way, as slow as that may have been, the explosions had become few and far between. By the time he got there Starfire stood over her opposite, whose unconscious form had already begun to merge with her.

Gingerly making his way over to her Robin could see that she was breathing heavily, multiple bruises and lacerations peppered her arms and legs. There was also a fairly nasty cut on her cheek that had a good deal of dried blood around it but that was no longer bleeding.

Looking up she almost fell over trying to get to him, but swiftly made her way to hug him. Robin noted that for the first time there was almost no pressure to the hug, no ribs almost cracking, Starfire was exhausted beyond belief.

Gently they both collapsed onto the ground, neither of them was capable of holding up the others' weight.

"Robin…" She mumbled, her face resting in the crook of his neck. Robin mumbled something that sounded like a 'yes', but even he didn't know if it was.

"You do… are my friend, aren't you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, but it was much louder due to their proximity.

Robin almost chuckled "What makes you ask that?" He asked, too weak to even sound concerned.

Starfire broke away from him on the ground, supporting herself with her own hands she couldn't look directly into his eyes. "She said things, so many…"

"Star…" Robin said, instantly cutter her off "it doesn't matter what she said, it was all part of Trigons…"

"I want you to tell me, Robin!" She exclaimed as her eyes shot up to his "I need you to Robin, please."

Robin shook his head and leaned forward, this time it was him giving her a hug. "Star, don't ever say I'm not your friend, I'm here always."

The two of them just sat there for a few moments, enjoying each others…

"Are you guys good, or should I move on?"

It seemed that they both separated faster than the speed of light and looked to see Cyborg standing some twenty feet away.

"How long have you been there?" Robin asked as he inspected the damage to Cyborgs robotics. There was a bit of damage everywhere, but the worst was the missing hand, other than that it seemed like he was ok.

"Long enough," Cyborg said as he started towards the two of them. "I've been…"

Just then the ground began to rubble, each of them braced themselves as buildings around them seemed to crumble. Hundreds of cries filled the air and as each of them looked up they saw a pillar of demons rising into the air.

 **Yeah, we got a chapter on time for once! How did you guys like it, the next chapter should be the end of the arc, it just took twice as long as the cartoon. Seriously I thought it would take 4 chapters and I'm at 6 without the fight scenes of three of them, I'll get to that below the…**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Beakers47- Yeah, I thought I remembered BB being able to morph specific parts of his body in the comics, I could be mistaken, but it just seems logical, no?**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Wow, whenever you say you missed your notifications the image of a kid sleeping through his alarm comes to my head…**

 **mochafraptor- Yes, yes we are!**

 **xzxzxzxzx- Why thank you, how is this story so awesome… I have no idea, insert Joker saying 'I just do things'. Writing made your head hurt? It calms me down, just got to make sure you have your story laid out before you really start writing.**

 **Alright, this has been bugging me since I saw The End Parts II, and III. So I decided to have the Titans beat their own demons, why? In the cartoon I think it's a horrible message that you can just pass your problems onto someone else, you should work through them, if they had worked together I would have liked that, but they just tag team which I hate. And BB is here, they've had different experiences now, perhaps they're better off because of his changes…**

 **Alright, guys, any questions, comments, or concerns leave them in a review and I'll address them the best I can. And wow, we were about a hundred shy for three thousand words…**

 **Until Next Time**


	49. Chapter 49:TheEnd ofthe BeginningPart: 6

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 49: The End of the Beginning Part: 6

I felt the rock hit my wing just as I heard Raven scream on my back. With literal tons of rock coming down around us I was trying to weave through as best I could, but it was impossible not to be hit.

As we tumbled my original plan of staying near the ground was no longer valid due to the fact that there was no ground left. All that remained was an endless black pit, and it seemed as though there were plenty of small red dots shooting up at us.

Somehow Raven was able to cling to my back as we did a flat spin into the darkness, but I wasn't about to give up.

I make some horrible noise as I began to use my damaged arm. Pulling in my wings I tried to realign us as we kept descending. Feeling that I could open my arms I spread my wings and caught the air rushing back up towards us.

I spotted outcrop of rock on the giant cliff of rock and made a beeline for it. Raven screamed as red demons shot past me as I pushed harder and harder towards that ledge.

I wouldn't say it was a very dignified landing, but it was a landing none the less. I was careful to keep Raven out of harm's way, but that meant It was going to hurt even more. I didn't care.

Jumping off my back Raven ran to hide behind a rock that had landed on the ledge, while I reverted back to human form.

It felt as if my arm was on fire, the entire left arm was covered in blood and I was willing to bet that I had a broken or fractured bone in there.

"Don't worry Raven, they're not for us," I said as calmly as I could while the last of the demons shot past us.

Slowly she came out from behind her rock, her small frame only amplifying the look of fear she now wore.

"You ok?" I asked, but she just stood there looking at my arm, as if it were some otherworldly object.

"Beast Boy, why are you doing this?"

I raised an eyebrow at first, but the look she was giving me, even if it was one the face of the child, it was a look I knew too well. "You do remember."

A slow nod was my answer "It's like a dream," she said as she walked to the edge of our ledge. "or like some cruel nightmare, I only remember some things, the rest is foggy."

"But it's over now."

"Raven, we need you, you can help us," I said I needed her to be with us one hundred percent.

"No one can defeat Trigon," she said, turning back to me "you came down here for nothing."

"I came here for you," I growled out as I tried cleaning my arm.

"WHY!" she cried "I have nothing, my powers came from Him, and they're gone now." She walked over to me and knelt down in front of me. "A prophecy came true, there's nothing we can do."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

Gritting my teeth, I stood up, standing over her I felt like a giant, but one that also felt like an ant.

"Perhaps," I said plainly. Looking up at me she had a blank stare, obviously, she didn't understand. "but there can be worse things than dying, running scared is one of them."

"You once told me that you didn't do fear, but all I see is a scared child who wants nothing more than to hide from the possibility to fix this world," I said "and it not fair that we have to do it, but guess what, life isn't fair, yours isn't fair, mine doesn't fair, and neither is anyone else's, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't save them, so I'm going to ask you one time Raven…"

She looked up at me wide-eyed, "Do you want me to leave you here, or do you want to save the damn world?"

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin could remember when he was young he was chased by a swarm of angry bees from the inside of an old circus railcar, he was starting to feel the same in this situation.

All three of them ran down the rubble-filled streets, only glancing behind to shoot at a swarm of very angry demons or throw a birdrang.

"Robin," Cyborg started as he looked over to his friend.

"Yeah?"

"You have great cardio man."

Suddenly a black beam shot out towards the crowd. Turning around they, all watched in astonishment as the demons fell apart in midair.

At the same time, all of them suddenly filled with hope, who else other than Raven could have fired that shot?

But when the smoke settled they were met with Beast Boy, whose arm was encased in black energy and a small child next to him who looked astonishingly like Raven.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I figured I could put it off as Raven's powers, after all since she had hit us with separate pieces of her power and the color was different.

That was why I put my arm in dark energy, why I struggled to keep a black disk below us as we ascended through the giant gaping hole in the ground, and hat was also why I disintegrated that entire group of fire demons, even though it wore me out.

Appearing from a cloud of smoke, I could see the disappointment when they saw Raven, it was probably the same look I gave Robin when I first saw her. But regardless, they found their way towards us.

"Raven?" Starfire asked as she floated towards her tiny friend.

Robin walked up to me and glanced at my arm "Broken?" He asked I nodded in response.

"How's things up here?" I asked, a small smile growing on my face.

Robin shrugged, while Cyborg spoke up "Same old thing, getting chased by an angry group of demons, all in days work." He said while giving me thumbs up.

Robin glanced at Raven who was talking with Starfire "So… what exactly happened?"

I gave Robin a trimmed version of the story, Slade heading off, me finding Raven alone and without memory and our unfortunate mishap while coming to the surface.

"So, it's broken?" Robin said while pointing to my arm.

"Feels like it," I said bitterly if not a bit sarcastically.

Suddenly the ground began to tremble, and a shadow began to crawl across the city. Looking up we all saw the towering figure of Trigon.

" _ **What strange vermin cower beneath my rocks?"**_

Suddenly a blast of red energy caused us all to scatter. The resulting explosion threw us all away from each other. Landing on my broken arm I yelled in pain, I was not looking forward to recovering from this.

" _You, you are very promising indeed."_

The voice was Trigons, but it wasn't from his mouth, instead, it rang inside my head. What happened next was too fast for me to even react. I hadn't noticed the strand of red energy slithering towards me like a snake, instead, I felt the stinging sensation of it hitting my back.

Turning around as fast as I could I saw what was now unleashed. Its' giant white smile stared back at me.

He didn't speak, but instead beckoned me with his index finger mockingly before morphing into a hawk and dashing away.

"Beast Boy!" I heard Robin yell behind me, but I was fixated on the raptor now flying away.

Starting to head away from Robin I stopped and looked back at him as he raced towards me.

"Robin, stay here, I need to do this," I said as I tried to turn away, but a hand reached out grabbing my wrist.

"Beast Boy, we need you here, we need all the Titans to defeat Trigon," Robin said, with one of the lenses in his mask ripped I could his eye, pleading, begging for me to stay with them, I had seen the look before, but this was a different matter.

Shaking his hand off I shook my head "Robin trust me."

"You'll just be going after your own shadow, we…"

"Trust. Me." I said a bit forcefully.

With that I rocketed into the sky as an eagle, chasing after my very own shadow.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Robin did his best to regroup his team, but the seemingly constant seismic activity was impeding his progress. It wasn't like he hadn't had experience in ruins of a city before, No Man's land had ensured that. But no man's land didn't have multi-story demons stomping around either.

Starfire was able to get to him pretty quickly, she could fly after all, but Cyborg was running around with a small Raven on his back trying to escape falling debris.

This was gonna be a hell of a time.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Landing in a small square I morphed back into a human to see him standing there, just waiting for me.

"Lovely weather we're having today," He said raising his arms, gesturing at the sky as the ground shook slightly under our feet.

"We don't have to do this," I said, I wasn't prepared for this, not even close.

Brushing his foot along the stone beneath his foot he smiled "No, we don't," he said as he paused, "but I want to."

I couldn't even blink before he was in front of me and a pressure was on my through. I suddenly felt I was being lifted off the ground, and the horrifying realization came that I was. At least this pain was drowning out the pain my arm still felt.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this," he said with a disgusted tone "do you?"

Instead of throwing me to the ground, he threw me backward, the power propelling me back all the way to the buildings at the sides of the square.

Impact felt like I had been thrown from orbit, and landing on the ground was just an added insult.

Laying on my belly I tried to get up, but I suddenly felt the pressure of a boot resting on my head.

"Look at you," He said, I as he spits on me "so weak."

Grinding his heel back and forth my face was being thrashed against the ground. Suddenly the pressure was off and I was allowed to get up or at least try. All I could really manage was to push off the ground to my knees and elbows.

"Pitiful," he spat. "you can't even morph into complex creatures yet."

"You're not gonna kill me." I said with a shit eating grin smile. "you know exactly why you need me."

He nodded before grabbing me by the chest, his hand was no longer human, instead, it was that of beasts, something with long claws that dug into my skin. I winced in pain, but I refused to shout out.

His face contorted in fury "I'm the one who kept us alive all those years, you're the one who needs me!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you can't kill me," I responded as he growled.

"I could go kill the others," he said with a smile "It would be so easy, and Trigon? He would keep me alive."

"We both know you wouldn't do it."

"Doesn't matter if I would, all that matters is I can, and theirs, not a damn thing you can do to stop me, you can't even stand."

"You don't know that."

"Really? You could be so much better, so more powerful if you only listened to me."

I narrowed my eyed "I listened to you once, and…"

"We survived." He said quickly.

"You've been too easy on this world," He said, his face contorting in disgust "you know exactly what needs to happen if you want to save them." With a sudden smile "just give them one of those doppelgangers Malchior taught you about, then make a real difference,"

"Do things my way, the way you've always wanted to."

"I won't, I'm nothing like you," I said spitting in his face.

Almost too calmly he wiped it off with a laugh. "Oh, but we are alike you and I, after all, I didn't ask to exist."

Without any warning, he threw me over himself and into the square once again. This time I landed on my back, and I was too tired to get up.

Feeling the weight of his knee on my torso was excruciating, but I was just going to have to deal with it.

"You've been relying too much on the team?" He asked, "look at you, you were never this careless before, but now you've just reverted back to your old self, careless."

"Talk all you want, we both know you don't have much time, I still have to defeat Trigon you know."

Smiling he bared his teeth, this time they were horribly mangled and sharp, like that of a shark "Oh I know, but I just wanted you to know something."

Leaning down he came right up to my ear, his hot breath smelled like rotting fish, but I didn't flinch "I'll be there, whenever you're too weak, whenever you can't pick yourself up, I'll be there to keep you standing and like always all you have to do is ask."

With that, he got off me and I took a breath I hadn't known I was waiting to take. "Oh, and one last thing." He said before lifting his foot, "Take better care of the body for me."

This time I did scream in pain as he stomped his foot right onto my fracture arm, the dark energy long gone due to lack of concentration. Black dots floated in my vision, and the fact that the sting of his reassimilating with my just made it worse.

when I was finally able to see straight again I pulled myself up. Every atom in my body hurt. No matter how weak I was, it was time to end this.

Ω¥¥¥Ω

Good news. Slade showed up.

Bad news. Trigon had just blasted us with energy beams and we were all spent.

I could feel the tugging on my back as Raven tried to wake me up I could hear her cries for help, but I was too tired and weak to pick myself up.

It wasn't until I heard the sounds of more feet approaching did I open one of my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a flash of red, then a flash of white. I watched as Raven stood there, clad in white, and powering a shield made of pure white energy.

Raven looked down are her hands in astonishment, and then up to Beast Boy, who nodded. Beast Boy looked more beaten up than the rest of us. His face was already beginning to well up and his arm, now without any support seemed to hang limp and at strange angles.

" **Foolish child, you may have retained some of my power, but you are no threat to me. Look around you, your group is shattered, your world is mine, you could not withstand me before and you will not do so again. What chance does a child have against her all-powerful father!?"**

Raven looked at the ground, the helpless look on her face seemed to sum up all of her emotions., but then a hand rested on her shoulder.

"No,"

It was the lightest words Robin thought had even touched his ears, but after that, he couldn't believe what he saw.

It was perhaps the brightest and purest light he had ever witnessed, but it shot out from Raven's body, creating a sphere around her and when it finally subsided it was no longer a child that stood there.

Cast in white it was as if the purest of creatures stood in the ruins of a city, Robin could feel the air crackling, he could practically taste the ozone in the air as power surged around Raven, it seemed to jolt him, compel him to stand up.

Watching as Raven blasted beams of light at her father and drove him back was like watching a dream play out. Robin couldn't hear what she said, the impact of the energy hitting her father shook the earth and the shock wave caused only ringing in his ears.

Soon he was surrounded by white lighting as storm him and in that moment Robin seemed to know what to do. It was as if he could hear an invisible voice commanding him to stand. He looked around and it seemed as if the others had felt the urge to stand as well as they all, even with battered and broken bodies stood up.

Together they linked together and touched Raven's shoulders, giving back the power she had given us. Beast Boy seemed preoccupied with something on his hand and seeing that he had a broken arm, Robin connected him to Raven, Robin would have told anyone that Beast Boy was too tired to lift his good arm anyways. He looked the worst out of all of them.

Raven ascended into the sky and in an instant the giant white shape of a bird expanded outward.

Shielding my eyed I could feel the energy as it expanded, the rush of air from such a powerful action. My ears seemed to pop, and for a few seconds, I couldn't seem to pick up any noises.

Then it all hit me. The noises of a city, one full of life, car horns, the sound of production, people talking, it was all there.

Taking my arm down I looked around, clear skies, perfect skyline, we were back, the earth was back.

Robin watched as Raven descended from the sky, like an angel who had come back from slaying a demon.

Landing in front of them she was the only one without serious injuries, cyborgs would take a few days to fix, but the worst was by far Beast Boy.

"Unbelievable." Robin breathed.

"No," Raven said as she turned towards Beast Boy "someone believed."

Walking forward Raven embraced him, not only as a kind gesture, but to help him. He wasn't exactly stable, far from it, and now there were stuck there, Beast Boy too tired to even stand and being supported by a half-demon who, before this day, wouldn't want any contact with him.

Turning to the others, she said the three words they all wanted to hear.

"Let's go Home."

 **We're DONE! Well with season 4 at least. I can't tell you guys how long I've wanted to write this and it has taken much too long. I hope I did it justice as I think we all can safely say it is the best season by far. Also this is our longest chapter and the 100,000** **th** **word was… to.**

 **SHOUTOUTS- As well as being the last chapter of Season 4 we had the most reviews last chapter *Round of Applause*.**

 **Let's see if we can get more on the 50** **th** **chapter!**

 **-Wow there we a lot of milestones for this chapter….**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Hmmm… Coconuts.**

 **Mochfraptor- Why thank you… side note, finish your stories!**

 **A Random Guest- Well, wait, maybe we'll see, *wink*.**

 **Drannakka- Well how did he figure it out in his original timeline… food for thought…**

 **Beakers47- Why thank you… about that unstable DNA.**

 **xzxzxzxzx- Well you're awesome sir, except your name is not a word so… we should really start there.**

 **Pluto- Why thank you my friend. Um I know this maybe awkward but they've been saying some things and I just have to ask… do you still identify as a planet?**

 **Well that's it for me this week folks. Most Reviews, Longest Chapter, and Hitting 100,000 words. Honestly, I never thought we'd get this far, but here we are. Leave your questions, comments, or concerns in the review section and I'll do my best to respond.**

 **Until Next Time**


	50. Chapter 50: New Wounds

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 50: New Wounds

I really wished Cyborg had more pain meds.

It was actually quite an awkward situation coming back from the city. As we sat on Raven's energy field flying through the sky I wondered just how many people realized how close we were to armageddon.

It wasn't nuclear war, famine, or disease that would have wiped out the human race, no, it would have been an interdimensional demon.

These thoughts kept swirling in my head as I tried to focus on anything other than the pain that crawled all over my body. Luckily my wounds were beginning to close up, but that didn't mean I couldn't feel the holes on my chest or the broken bone in my arm.

As we crossed the bay the wind felt good, even with all the dirt, blood, and filth on me. I looked over to the others, or the at least the best I could with an eye swelling shut. Starfire wasn't flying, she was probably too tired, she sat next to Robin, with her head leaning on his shoulder. I thought I saw his eyes closed, it was almost unnerving to be able to see his one eye.

Cyborg stood guard, his arms crossed. Other than Raven, he had the least injuries. He was currency messing with a screen on his wrist, he must have been remotely getting things ready in the infirmary.

Robin had just made me explain my entire experience in the underworld. I was tired and skipped over some of the finer details, but I included splitting with Slade, the riddle, finding raven, and having rocks crush my wing, it was such a pleasant story. Honestly we were all tired and I wasn't sure most of them were listening, except for Raven, she was most certaintly paying attention.

Touching down on the island was a relief, I gently swung my feet over the edge of our ride and gingerly set my feet down, and nearly fell over trying to get myself up, but luckily someone was there to catch me.

"Watch yourself," Raven said, her voice was surprisingly full of life, a far cry from her earlier monotone.

She took my good arm over her shoulders, supporting my weight we began to take small steps towards the tower. She was so close, so incredibly close, but I didn't have the energy to object.

"You guys go ahead and get a bed ready," Raven said, turning her head to the others "we'll take our time."

"Can't you just, ya know, hover him in?" Cyborg asked with a smile. To my surprise, Raven smiled back.

"I'm not gonna be floated in like some ice cube!" I snapped before Cyborg put up his hands, I had to say that comparison was horrible, but I didn't really care.

"Alright, calm down man, I'll get it ready," He said as he took off.

As we reached the door Robin nodded to us as he and Starfire took off as well, probably to go help Cyborg.

Little by little, we crept through the base, neither one of us wanting to stop, or at least not until I needed to.

Letting me lean against the wall Raven pulled back, I looked at her only to see spots of red covering her white leotard.

"Sorry about that," I said, almost falling asleep against the wall.

"Hmm, I can wash it," Raven said shrugging.

Raven never shrugged.

"Are you keeping the white?" I asked, "If I recall correctly, Cyborg and I saw that before."

"Maybe… I'm gonna enjoy this first though."

I tilted my head "Enjoy what?" Before she could respond I motioned for her to keep moving.

Once she was supporting me with my arm was again over her shoulders she spoke again.

"This… I can… feel things." She said hopefulness was in her voice.

Oh god.

"But won't your powers go all crazy?" I asked she didn't act like this last time.

"I don't know, but I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts."

"Hmm."

We kept walking, we were nearly a to the elevator when she spoke again.

"How do you do it Beast Boy?" She asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked having been a bit preoccupied with the pain in my chest.

"How do you keep going, even when there seems like no point?" She asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, but the elevator that we were so close to opened and out cam Cyborg with a medical bed.

"Alright, clear the area, we have an appointment for a one Beast Boy!"

I couldn't say one more word as I collapsed into the bed. I felt myself blink and apparently, I had gone to sleep because we were just rolling into the infirmary.

I could feel Cyborg begin to try and cut away my uniform, which was easier said than done because of the kevlar.

I hadn't been concerned and was almost about to go back to sleep, even with the uniform peeling off dried blood and causing discomfort, I had endured worse. However. when he tried pulling my glove off with the ring underneath did I recoil back.

"I need to take that off Green Bean," Cyborg said I could hear the exhaustion and irritation in his voice.

Looking down over myself I could see that everything above my waist was off, even on my broken arm.

"Just leave it please," I said, and it didn't seem like Cyborg had the will to fight me on it.

After setting my cast and either patching or stitching any gashes he stepped back to admire his work.

"What am I a damn art piece?" I growled it was rude, but both of us just wanted rest.

Rubbing his face Cyborg yawned. "Look, the cast is set and Raven will hopefully be in here as soon as possible, she's checking the rest of the team. I'm gonna get some shut eye and I don't want to see you up and about, you've been in here too much lately."

I nodded, did a mock solute with my good arm, and let him leave.

With my healing increasing throughout adolescence it was easier when I was older, broken bones were a few days to heal, and any cut on the skin closed in a matter of minutes. I would never get back to the days of taking a breather when eating live rounds of ammunition, not if I could help it, but I would heal faster as this body aged.

Dozing off there was nothing but darkness in my dreams or at least nothing but darkness and a great big smile.

" _Look at you, so weak."_

" _I could go kill the others, it would be so easy."_

" _I'm the one who kept us alive all those years, you're the one who needs me!"_

" _We are alike you and I, after all, I didn't ask to exist."_

" _I'll be there to keep you standing and like always all you have to do is ask."_

My eyes shot open, and I shot out of bed, while in the process breaking the IV and monitoring lines connected to my body.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down."

It was dark out, probably just the first half of the night ran splashed against the window and lightning cracked outside.

Looking around there was only one figure, and she was a white-robed demoness who now had her hands up in the air.

Finally lowering my stance, I hadn't noticed just how fast I had been breathing, now my heart felt like a locomotive pounding in my chest. I also noticed I didn't have an eye swollen shut anymore, it was either my own body or her magic's doing.

Shaking my head, I ripped any of the remaining wires off myself and turned off the machines all while Raven watched me.

"Where are your going?" She asked, while I gathered my things and headed for the door.

Looking back, I noted that she still hadn't changed her leotard, my stain was still there on her side.

"Kitchen, I need something to eat."

Ω¥¥¥Ω

I wouldn't have known that she was following me if I hadn't memoried what the airflow sounded like when she floated.

Having sensitive hearing made it nice when you didn't want someone sneaking up on you, but in a crowded area, well good luck not getting a headache.

The air as Raven hovered was different somehow, Starfire always had turbulence when she flew, wither it was just the speed or gracefulness of her flying I may never know. All I knew what Raven was practically shadowing me throughout the halls.

For some reason the tower wasn't really cold, a fact that kept me from going to my room and grabbing more clothes, instead I found myself looking into the fridge for something to drink or something to eat.

I heard her sit down on one of the chairs behind me, it was obvious that she wasn't going to leave me in peace so easily.

"Raven, I'm fine, you can go rest up," I said dismissively.

"You shouldn't be out of the infirmary, and I was healing your arm just a few minutes ag."

I rolled my eyes and looked at the bandages on my chest. Ripping them off I nodded, the wounds were just about closed up and bits of scar tissue were already forming.

"Did you help with that?" I asked, wanting to know if it was just my cells or her magic that had done that.

She shook her head "I had just started on your arm when you woke up."

I nodded, grabbing a bit of tofu and a glass of juice I set it down on the island's countertop across from Raven.

Extending my arm, she nodded realizing that I wanted to eat while she worked her literal magic.

A few moments of silence followed, only the sound of me chewing my food was heard, but then it was broken.

"What was the answer to the riddle?"

Pausing I gave her a confused look.

"The riddle that you told us about, what was the answer?"

Frowning I swallowed the last of my tofu and leaned back in the chair.

"What do you think?" I asked.

She frowned "I really can't say, nothing lines up."

"Exactly."

She tilted her head, obviously wanting me to continue.

Sighing I got up from my chair and started to pace towards the common area.

"Nearly all of it was garbage, whatever it was it wanted to send a clear message, it wanted me to…" I stopped as I reached the window "It wanted me to realize there was no clear direction, there was only one clue to stand out."

"But you supposedly knew who killed your wife?"

.

"I knew who killed my wife because it was me."

.

.

"The only person to know."

She didn't say anything, she just got up from her chair and walked over the common area.

Looking out over the city it was nothing but an assortment of blobs of color. Behind me I could see her reflection just beyond my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

In that moment I felt something painful in my chest and it wasn't the healing wounds. An old memory surfaced, one I had tried very hard to push down into the recesses of my mind.

 _Standing in the middle of a small garden._

" _Are you alright?"_

Blinking away the memory I felt myself compelled, even against my better instincts to give the truth.

"No."

"How do you do it?" She asked as I turned around to face her "How do you keep going, in the face of all… that."

Lighting flashed across the sky lighting up the room, lighting up her face.

"What do you want me to say, Raven? What do you want me to tell you, that I keep going because it's heroic?"

She just looked at me, not trying to stop me.

"Do you want me to tell you it's hope, or that its responsibility? No… Raven… it's… not something you can really explain. It's the only thing you can do, make the people responsible…." I trailed off not knowing what more to say.

"Then why don't you blame me?"

"It would have happened one way or another."

"No… if I hadn't gone to him if I hadn't given myself over to Slade…"

Resting my hands on her shoulders I looked at her. "Listen to me Raven, it's not your fault, it's not your fault that you had to be given that burden, and it's not your fault that you willingly went, if you didn't, we would be dead and we wouldn't have been able to save the world."

She just looked at me, then pulled away. Putting her hands on her elbows it almost seemed as if she was cold.

"I haven't been the same since I... we defeated him. I can feel all these emotions, and I'm not quite sure what they mean."

"But I think I know what one is…" She said as she stepped closer.

She reached out to my chest, a dull glow emanating from her hand, the only light being produced in the room. I looked down to see the wounds slowly stitching themselves together.

I hadn't noticed this and I was sure this wasn't the case last time, but I was near her height now, enabling me to see directly into her face, which was growing ever closer.

I lost it in the darkness, only to have it reappear closer with a flash of lighting.

There was darkness again, I couldn't move back even if I wanted to now, my back was against the freezing glass.

Another flash, but it wasn't the same. The light was darkened in areas where water was flowing down the glass. Streams of darkness crisscrossed her face and suddenly I wasn't looking at Raven, instead, _I was looking at the bloodied face of someone I used to know_.

When she came closer I shot to the side with my back turned to her, my heart was a jackhammer, my body was a shivering mess and I was doing my best to keep myself from falling to the floor.

"Beast Boy?"

"DON'T!" I shouted, "Please don't Raven."

"You don't want that."

"But I…"

"You don't know what you feel Raven." I snapped, "You have as much real experience with your emotions as a child, so don't do this… you don't know what _this_ really is…" Could I blame her, after all, I was the one who spared her from Malchior, but was that really a good thing?

"And you do?" I could picture the slightly angry face she was making behind me, but I didn't dare to look back. I saw the door in front of me and I was fully capable of bolting at any moment.

But I still felt like I wanted, needed to stay.

"I know what I felt when I met you Beast Boy… or do you prefer Log.."

"Beast Boy," I growled out.

"You called me Rae down there though."

"I didn't mean to." It had really been a slip of the tongue.

Silence followed, then a few footsteps coming up behind me. My breathing stopped, my heart pounded in my ears.

"Make me laugh." She begged.

.

.

.

"Please."

I started to move towards the door, damn the consequences this wasn't right, this wouldn't help anyone.

"Make me laugh like when we met."

I stopped right before the door, I could feel cold tendrils of dark energy trying to stop me, but I never turned around.

I could hear her float up behind me, it would be so easy… but I wasn't here for easy.

"Is it because I'm not hum…"

"Dammit Raven," I breathed, exhausted I wouldn't give in, I wouldn't turn around "it has nothing to do with you."

"Then do it, make me laugh."

.

.

.

"I can't."

 **Well… SURPRISE. That was the real season finale! I thought I had worked up to it, but I don't know, I think it's acceptable, BB has to take responsibility if he's going to make changes to the timeline. If you take an experience away from the team, how are they supposed to learn without it?**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Cicinuts? Really man, and Doom… well, the real questions is Doom prepared for BB?**

 **Pluto- Oh let me insert all kinds of Percy Jackson references here, but that's for another story… Well, I think season 5 is easier… well, more about that later.**

 **mochafraptor- You better and thank you, sir.**

 **Beakers47- Well he's your beautiful ending to a season!**

 **A Random Guest- Well I didn't include the lines as a testament to how powerful the attacks were (Shockwaves temporarily making Robin deft) as well as just highlighting the fact that Robin was tired as hell and beat up pretty badly.**

 **drannakka- Ha! BB wishes that were his timeline, that would be a walk in the part for him. Little less on the magic man, I think you're thinking a bit too far into this.**

 **xzxzxzxzx- I don't expect you to bud, and thank you.**

 **Well that's it for this week folks. Leave your hatred in the reviews so I can not screw up so much next time. Up next… SEASON 5 Baby!**

 **Untill Next Time.**


	51. Chapter 51: Collection

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 51: Collection

I hadn't had a shower since we had come back from the city.

It was the morning after, Cyborg had just found me at the gym and gave me one of the most intense verbal lashings I could remember to date. I proceeded to ignore him and continue running on my treadmill.

By the time I was done I stank like the sewer system of Gotham and that's not a light accusation.

But it was nothing a hot shower couldn't handle… maybe.

Breathing in the steam I scrubbed out the last remaining remnants of pavements, rock, and earth from my body, but a dreading feeling still lingered inside of me.

Drying off and suiting up I headed to the pocket dimension.

The first thing that ran through my mind was the word 'chaos' because that was the only word to describe the area I had everything set up in.

Shelves and books were thrown around, powder was spread all over the floor while creating a swirling image around the centerpiece. I was lucky that my workbench only had its contents blown off and not the entire piece destroyed.

Picking up the crystal's case I moved towards it slowly. Shots of power arched outward from its center and it kept pulsing an ominous chrisom.

Surrounding it in dark energy I quickly placed it in the case. It would serve its purpose should the need arise, but right now I was going to have to clean this place up.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Robin yawned as he made himself breakfast. He had skipped training for the first time in years and it had taken an inter-dimensional demon to make him stay in bed for once.

Currently, he was making himself some toast, while Cyborg was the usual cook he wasn't around this morning. Robin guessed he was either still resting or repairing himself.

After arriving at the tower Robin had checked in with him for a medical evaluation with Starfire in tow. Robin had some bandages applied and some painkillers prescribe, but he didn't have anything extreme. Starfire was the same, with her Tamaranean physiology she was able to escape most injuries. The gash along her cheek was glued up by Cyborg who assured her it wouldn't scar, but she wasn't so certain.

Robin finished making his food and stood at the kitchen island slowly eating when it started.

He couldn't quite tell what 'it' was, but he could feel it, he sensed it and it started when Beast Boy walked through the door.

Silently Beast Boy walked down to the kitchen. Robin instantly knew something was off, it wasn't the broken arm, that wouldn't make Beast Boy silent, but that was exactly what he was. Neither the broken arm nor any kind of fatigue would have him make tea for himself either.

Robin didn't really want to put the effort into confronting him about it either. If he wanted tea, he could have tea and no one would bother him about it, he had earned that much in the last few days.

Beast Boy fixed himself some breakfast and sat down across from me, neither of them spoke, they both just ate.

Then Raven arrived.

When the door opened Robin cold almost feel the air shift a few degrees colder, though it could have just been his imagination.

Her face was as stoic as it had been before, and Robin wasn't too surprised that she had changed back into her standard uniform instead of her white one. He wasn't going to make it obvious he was examining his teammate's behaviors, after all, he was trained to be most discreet.

Walking down to the kitchen she went to make herself a cup of tea but hesitated. Robin watched as she examined the tea left behind by Beast Boy. Looking at it she poured herself a small bit and tasted the still hot brew. Tasting if for a few moments she then poured herself more without saying a word.

Silently Robin observed her as she sat down next to Beast Boy's broken arm. Setting down her cup, a dull glow emanated from her hand. Beast Boy said nothing, simply eating his breakfast and allowing her to work on his arm.

There was something wrong about this exchange, apart from everything obvious Robin had observed, not only did they both not speak, they both seemed to move in a much more calculated and through-out manner.

Once Raven finished her tea she stopped working on Beast Boys arm and placed her cup in the sink.

Once she was out the door Beast Boy got up and headed out the door as well, leaving only Robin to his thoughts and ideas as to what could have happened to make them act so strange. His theories continually kept getting more outlandish, from something that had happened when Beast Boy went to retrieve her to some sort of fight afterward.

All Robin knew was he had just witnessed the strangest interaction to ever take place in the tower, and it hadn't even involved words.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

I hated quiet.

Not the lack of noise, but the lack of anything happening in the city.

It had been a nearly two weeks since the events with Trigon and here I was trying to keep busy.

I had difficulty sleeping so I would stay awake and work on my different projects. I knew once we made contact with the Doom Patrol we would be heading around the world to recruit, so I was rushing to accomplish any little task that needed to be completed.

That included dropping in on Red X.

"It's really amazing how much crap you can cram in here," I said as I tried to navigate my way through a maze of wires and computers.

Different vehicles were somehow being stored down here, Beast Boy really didn't want to know how he acquired them or how he got them down here.

His 'friend', 'acquaintance', ally? Was sitting at a desk with all but one of the monitors off.

"You should really come around here more often." He said through his mask as he turned around.

"You really still wear that thing around me?" I asked it was getting ridiculous now.

"Actually…" There a pop and then a hiss, the stabilization of pressure between two areas as the back of his helmet opened just enough.

Sliding it off I couldn't help but smirk as he still had a mask just like Robin's covering his eyes. Probably a bat thing.

"It's a shame," I said jokingly "won't even trust a good friend like me with your face."

He snarled "Exactly how many times have you seen Dick's face?"

"Point taken, I see you're remembering things," I said. In return he simply got up and walked over to a newly installed weapons rack, on which an assortment of pistols, rifles, shotguns, and even grenade launchers hung. Underneath sat a workbench with an assortment of rounds and magazines laying on it.

I hadn't noticed until now, but one of the cars had a multitude of bullet holes in it, probably target practice.

"Yeah, I remember now," He said as he picked up an empty magazine and started to load it. "I remember everything."

"Hmm, I guess it looks like I can't offer you anything anymore," I said as he finished filling the clip.

"Yeah," he mumbled as he picked a heavily modified M4 off the rack "Something like that." He put the magazine in and released the bolt the resulting cling of metal hitting metal resounded across the otherwise silent area.

"You want to go back to Gotham, don't you?" I asked.

Silently he nodded before turned around and unloaded the clip into the car.

I winced as each concussive blast rattled my ears, but I could take it. The smell of gunpowder was thick in the air, but I liked it.

"I want to go back to Gotham, but I think you'll find this interesting first." He said as he threw down his rifle and turned back to his desk. Running his one of his hands through his dark hair I could tell he was tired.

He threw me something, a tan envelope with a familiar skull pattern, I threw down a ticket. His mask stretched as his eyes widened as he picked up the envelope.

"What's this?" he asked

"I could ask you the same thing."

A small smirk marked his lips as he picked up his tickets while I picked up the envelope.

Opening it I was welcomed to the sight of black paper. Instead of black ink white ink was used to write down information. Information pertaining to a meeting.

"Yeah, I got that while hanging out with those people you so kindly asked me 'get in bed with', looks like the brain is having a slumber party."

"Any Idea why?" I asked, but I already knew the answer, I had been waiting for the Doom Patrol drone to show up at any time now.

Shrugging he just sat down in his chair rubbing his eyes "I don't know and I don't really care, I'm going to Gotham."

I nodded, It wasn't like I was going to stop him, he had been helping me for some time now and I owed him this.

I just hoped I would get him back in one piece, the bat was a lot of things, gentle usually isn't one of them.

"Then go."

"You're joking, right?" He asked incredibly "You want me to go?"

"yeah."

"You're not going to bribe me to stay?" He asked suspiciously.

"It's not like I won't be able to reach you."

Hesitantly he relaxed back into his chair "Shiiiit."

Turning around I examined his arsenal "So what are you going to do once you get to Gotham?" I asked.

I looked over to the car he had riddled with bullets and couldn't help but blink. A shape had appeared before my very eyes, the holes seemed to align into _his_ symbol, a bat.

"I think you know how I feel." He responded, "It's not like you to be one step behind, hell it's not like you to be on par with everyone else, and there's one more thing I can't figure out."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"You."

A pregnant silence passed between us before he continued.

"I've read up on you, a bit like me, street rat, not as figuratively I guess, then the Doom Patrol then titans… but I wouldn't say you're what you say you are."

"Just what are you implying?" I asked.

"Nothing…" He said still leaning back into his chair "you just make a man wonder where you _really_ come from."

.

.

.

"Go to Gotham, do what you do best." I said, before turning to leave. "just do one thing for me."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at me "What?"

"Don't forget that Gotham is another beast, and the Bat doesn't play as nice as the Titans."

 **Oh boy did that take loooooong.**

 **Reviews!**

 **Mochafraptor- Beast Boy and the word nice don't go together in many sentences.**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Same and gone one chapter later.**

 **Adrinsane- Beast Boy doesn't have 'My Chemical Romance' Syndrome, that's more of Raven's job anyways, but he does control this future (kinda).**

 **Pluto- Next season is here good sir!**

 **Beakers47- Why thank you.**

 **Xzxzxzxzx- Oh thank you, looking forward to finishing the next season.**

 **So, it took so long because my internet was out for the last week and a half, it was not fun running off cellular data, but here we are. I also was working out some issues with season 5. The problem with season 5 is a lot of 'one shot' episodes, or episodes that don't really contribute to the advancement of the story *cough* Revved Up, Go! *cough*, so I just want to know what you guys would like to see and I'll think it over.**

 **Also thank you for the increase in Reviews it's been great getting the extra feedback.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	52. Chapter 52: Burnt Out

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 52: Burnt Out

 _There wasn't much time for rescue missions nowadays, but I'd be damned if I didn't try to get to my target in time._

 _Eastern Europe was in shambles. Nearly half an entire continent slowly crumbling away into chaos here I was trying to reach one blasted aircraft._

 _Poland wasn't such a bad place before. Nice people, nice views, fantastic food, but now it was just a land pillaged and in the process of being grounded underneath an iron boot._

 _Most of eastern Europe was in shambles. NATO from the west and the Russians coming from the east were more than capable of knocking out the comparatively weak forces keeping them at bay. The blockade by sea and air hadn't helped either, however, I wouldn't even be here if the friendly forces hadn't been delaying the advancing wave._

 _And here I was outside Warsaw, racing against the incoming invasion, and trying not to get killed myself._

 _Just another day in the life…_

 _It was a cold morning in January, I packed up my remaining gear and climbed out of my 'shelter' that I had slept in for the night. I brushed a bit of rubble out of the way as I pushed myself out of the basement of a bombed-out home._

 _Looking around I noticed the frost on the ground and my visible breath as I exhaled._

 _Pulling my coat tighter, I looked down to the screen now lighting up on my wrist, their location had been updated since last night, they were now less than two miles from my current location and I wasn't about to blow my cover with a transformation into a cheetah so it looked like I was walking on two legs._

 _I adjusted my cold weather gear, readjusted my backpack, and started west._

 _I didn't completely ignore the sounds of small arms fire coming from the east, and I certainly didn't ignore the artillery impacts either, but I didn't have the luxury of time, so I pushed on._

 _It felt like hours of walking in a forest, but I was finally able to reach the nearest town to the crash site. It was only a kilometer farther, but I decided I would check in the town and see if any survivors had come their instead._

 _Closing in on the town I wasn't too surprised when I spotted snow. The white pieces floated delicately in the air._

 _At least until I felt one on my skin._

 _Instead of melting, it was warm, and only after I inspected it did it fall apart._

 _Ash._

 _Morphing into a cheetah I took off in the direction of the village, it didn't take me long to spot the smoke and with heightened senses, I could practically smell the destruction._

 _When I finally saw the blazing houses, I couldn't stop, I had to reach the center of the town, I had to reach them._

 _Burnt out buildings, cars, and buses were all here. It wasn't until I got near the center did I see the first bodies._

 _Then I saw him, the crimson light emitting off his skin and my stomach dropped as he stood in front of my targets, or more specifically one of my targets surrounded by his comrades._

 _In front of them, a few townspeople knelt as a few troopers with flamethrowers guarded them._

" _C'mon, all I need is a location… you can stop this at any time you know…" I heard him say as he crouched in front of my targets, "don't you want at least some of the town to live?"_

 _I didn't have much time, throwing out some dark energy the troopers nearest to the townspeople and had it wrap around their legs. As they were thrown into the sky I targeted the last two troopers._

 _Morphing onto a grizzly I charged at them, knocking them into the nearest building._

 _It wasn't an elaborate plan, but it saved the civilians._

 _Suddenly I heard a slow clapping. Turning I saw him fully now, his red glow emanating from him, I wasn't going to enjoy this, neither of us were._

" _Look at you go, finally back in the game?" he asked with a smirk._

" _I should ask you the same thing," I responded, "we hadn't heard from you in months."_

 _He shrugged "Guess I wasn't important enough to come and find."_

 _I frowned "We did search for you, but there were bigger issues… we mourned you."_

 _He rolled his eyes "Well surprise, here I am and this time I'm on the right side."_

" _I wouldn't call siding with someone you once fought against at 'the right side'."_

" _It is when they're winning…"_

 _Looking up and down him I could tell he was expelling more heat then he had before, he was shining brighter, it wasn't natural._

" _I see you got some upgrades from him."_

" _Yeah, the job perks are nice."_

 _._

 _._

" _Was it so hard being Hotspot, was that not enough Isaiah?"_

 _He laughed a deep and echoing sound that resonated through the town. "Would it hurt your feelings if I told you it was, this… this is just so damn fun." He said as he turned around and kicked my target in the side of the head._

 _Turning back to me he smiled "I don't see why you are so against him, he helped you after all."_

 _I growled, "He did nothing for me."_

 _Raising an eyebrow, he smirked, "Don't tell me you didn't like it, not even little."_

" _Are we going to talk all day or are we going to do this?" I asked while shrugging off all my outerwear._

 _Rolling his neck, he sighed "I guess we will, it's a shame I'm going to have to do this to you."_

" _I know I'm sorry."_

 _Without a word I charged him, the surprise was such a nice advantage, dodging a blast Isaiah didn't have time to react to the foot that landed against his face._

 _I could already smell the burned rubber, but I wasn't about to let up._

 _Taking out a few pellets from a pouch I threw them towards him. Upon impact, a solid block of ice encased the former Titans in a temporary prison of ice. I knew it wouldn't last._

 _I could already hear the cracking of ice as I ran towards the team I was supposed to be rescuing._

 _The hairs on the back of my neck raised and I dived to the ground as a blast of fire went over my head._

" _At least fight me!"_

 _Grunting as I pushed myself up I dusted myself off._

" _I don't want to hurt you, Isaiah," I said, "come back with me."_

 _He scoffed "Why should I do that?" He asked "go and huddle in some bunker eating rations, scraping by day to day… I would guess that's what you've be been doing, at least I'll be alive by the end of this."_

" _Isaiah please, at least do it so Khol…" Another blast of fire was my answer._

" _SHUT UP!" He roared as he charged up another more powerful blast._

 _Shaking my head black energy with its signature green trim engulfed my hands._

 _Isaiah shot first, the pulsing red energy and flame came towards me like a tsunami, but I didn't flinch._

 _Raising one of my right hand I threw out my own blast of energy, instantly his was disintegrated._

" _Wha…" but he never finished as he was struck by my own._

 _Thrown back and on the ground, he dodged the second attack to come his way, leaving a crater where he once was._

" _I guess he didn't do quite as good of a job with you, I bet he couldn't even get Professor Chang to work on you, did he?" I said as I walked up to him while he picked himself up._

 _All I was met with was a flaming fist which I caught with my hand._

 _His eyes widened as he realized it was covered in dark energy._

 _Quickly gripping his wrist, I pulled him down and brought his face onto my knee. Even with the shielding, I could feel the heat searing my skill, I could practically smell the burning flesh, but I ignored it as I kept striking out at him._

 _He tried to throw a punch of his own, but only found air and a broken elbow. Falling to his knees he screamed in pain as he pulled his limp arm towards his chest._

" _You shouldn't have skipped combat lessons, Isaiah," I said before I delivered a kick to the side of his head. As he fell to the side his body began to astonish, the heat disappearing with it._

 _As he impacted face first with the ground I knelt down to roll him over, I didn't know what I was going to do with him, he was an enemy combatant, but I still wanted to take him with me._

 _When I finally put him on his back I shook my head as I looked at his bare face and hands. Multiple scars, symmetrical in nature, were on his hands and face, and they we 'rent as neat as Professor Chang's._

What did they do to you?

 _Slowly I got up, and made my way to my target, kneeling down in front of him I could barely make out the man who was in front of me._

 _An unkempt bear replaced his usually clean-shaven face, he no longer wore a uniform only a tattered coat looking a size too large, and his signature helmet was at his side in two pieces, melted right down the middle._

" _Mento…" I said, barely above a whisper as I placed a hand on his slightly shaking shoulder._

 _As I touched him his body when ridged. Slowly he looked up to me, his face was a mix of blood and tears. The man before me wasn't the commanding figure I knew, he didn't seem to have any grasp on reality as he held Elastic Girl's head in his lap._

 _Next to him sat the remains of Robot man and the limp figure of Negative Man._

" _Beast… Boy?" He asked quietly._

 _I nodded reassuringly. Suddenly a fresh burst of tears launched from his eyes. His chest heaved uncontrollably, and I was afraid his sobs might attract some unwanted attention if anyone was in our vicinity,_

" _It's all my fault..." He said and he clutched Elastic girl. "He made me do it, he made me."_

" _Mento… we have to go. I said, grabbing him by his jacket I tried to pick him up, but he continued to clutch her._

 _Even when I got him to his feet I could tell one of his legs wasn't going to hold any weight and he still wouldn't let go of her._

 _The ironclad man I knew was gone, anything left was as broken a shell as the robot next to us._

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Groaning I stretched out on the hard object I was laying on.

My body felt like shit and I had a headache to match.

And I had a sneaking suspicion as to what caused it.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with two things. One, an empty unmarked body that probably held the substance responsible for my current misery. And two, a large pile of vomit.

Growling, I picked myself up and clutched my head. I moved as fast as I could to clean up the mess, I didn't want a repeat with Starfire. Luckily it was only one bottle, and even though the vomit smelled repulsive, I had dealt with worse.

I went to get myself cleaned up, it was nearing 10:00 and I was assuming Robin was letting me rest since there was no emergency yet today.

Grabbing a clean uniform, I made my way out to the common room. Before I even reached the door, I could hear the yelling from the other side.

Stopping and taking a deep breath, I entered.

Sometimes you have to just stand in awe of what the Titans are capable of. And that's exactly what I did.

The entire kitchen is in shambles, there were ingredients everywhere, pots, pans, and any other utensils were thrown across the area and Cyborg and Starfire were both trying their best to make something edible.

Robin was watching with the closest face to amused he could make and Raven was sitting on the couch wither her backed turned, obviously reading a book.

I was going to say something, but the large screen in front of Raven lit up. The words 'Intruder Alert' pulsed on the screen in large red letters.

Suddenly we all sprang into action, all of us gathering in the center of the room and waiting for it to come through the door.

Cyborg and Starfire were both powered up, but it was mildly amusing considering they wanted to do battle in chef hats and covered in batter,

When the drone did make it through the door and stopped in front of us Cyborg was the first one to comment.

"So… is this thing gonna attack us?"

I sighed and shook my head

"No, it's for me."

 **We made it guys! We have reached the 52** **nd** **week of updates… well, weeks where I actually post something. So… happy birthday… well not really, but you know what I mean.**

 **REVIEWS**

 **Plutonimus- Well looks whose got a shiny new account, thanks for waiting, if I could work 24/7 on this I would have 20 stories finished. Don't worry about content in your reviews (even though I love it) that fact that you reviewed is wonderful. As for reviews, favorites, I don't really care, just as long as people enjoy the story, (although I bet it has something to do with the Time-Travel theme, which is totally overused, but I love.) As for BB well you speculate your little heart out because I'm not telling…**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Totally true man, but what about the one with Raven and the kids… you're gonna like that chapter.**

 **Mochafraptor- Tension, what tension…**

 **Beakers47- I have a few ideas for the case, but I'd like your input. I generally don't like taking characters out of their own lanes unless something forces it and it's earned.**

 **Xzxzxzxzx- Why thank you.**

 **Now that Halloween has passed and we can all skip being thankful on Thanksgiving to indulging in consumerism for Christmas lets have a little contest shall we, well not a contest, but some fun.**

 **I want you guys to put your speculation down in your reviews, have a little fun, I get a kick when you guys speculate, throw out all your most outlandish theories and have a little fun, because there's only one gamemaster here, and you all are along for a crazy ride!**

 **Until Next Time.**


	53. Chapter 53: Choices

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 53: Choices

The Brain.

The thought of that one organ pretending to be human and how much damage he was… is capable of made my stomach churn. Not only was his intelligence concerning, but my own decision as to what to do with him would be… difficult to say the least.

Yet, I tried to push those thoughts down as an endless ocean of green canopy flowed below us while we rocketed through the sky. As I looked out my window I was able to catch a slight glimpse of my appearance. I had dent been able to catch a minute of sleep as we headed south and it was truly reflecting on my face.

I wondered who was going to look worse, me or them, but then again, I would just like to see them, one last time.

"Beast Boy…"

I was suddenly brought back to reality. "Yeah, Robin."

"Do you have any idea what the Doom Patrol could be doing in the Amazon."

 _Yeah getting captured by the Brotherhood of Evil._

I never really had a plan when it came to dealing with the Brain, I didn't want to make that substantial change to the timeline and not be prepared to face it.

What was I going to do when I first got here anyway? I didn't have resources to trace every possible lead, I had no idea where he was at that point in time, I was no Caped Crusader by far.

As we landed I hopped out of the T-Jet with a spring in my step. I needed the others to think I actually was worried about my former team. I had no doubt that Robin knew about the Doom Patrol when I joined the team, I wasn't so sure about the others. Perhaps Cyborg did, he did handle an obscene amount of information, so it was possible.

I still don't know why I didn't change my uniform after I left.

Cutting through the jungle I was annoyed with how slow we were going, I guess that helped my convincing the others, but I wanted nothing more than to morph into a jaguar and go much faster.

It felt like forever until we reached the crash site. I couldn't remember if they had called another jet to pick them up or we had repaired this one. I certainly never worked on it and if it was in any kind of flying shape after this landing it was a miracle.

Jumping inside the cabin I noted the multiple holes which lined the walls. It seemed like 20mm shells had penetrated the aircraft, now I was really impressed that the team survived, but I still wondered how Mento had been stupid enough to bring them into hostile airspace.

"Anything Beast Boy?" Cyborg called from outside.

Getting out of the downed aircraft I shook my head "There's nothing here."

Pushing on through the jungle I almost laughed when Starfire spoke up.

"This Patrol of Doom, who are they?"

Cyborg cleared his throat uncomfortably, nearly confirming my theory about him knowing about my past.

"The Doom Patrol is one of the oldest superhero teams, but they mostly keep to themselves." Cyborg explained, "Kinda a more specialized Just…"

"They're a bunch of stuck up assholes." I cut in, realizing that wasn't exactly the truth I clarified "Well Mento is, the rest aren't as bad."

Just as I said that we walked into the one machine I was looking for.

Behind me, I heard Cyborg let out a loud whistle as I crouched next to Robot Man's limp figure. Cyborg made the same comment about Robot Man being a prototype of him, but it really didn't make any sense. His father didn't make Robot Man and I guess Cyborg thought his father had something more to do with his cybernetics as well.

Giving Cliff a few good shakes for theatrics I turned to Cyborg to get his to try and repair the rusting hulk.

I wasn't sure how Cliff's brain could have survived that long without any supply of oxygen, but as soon as Cyborg was down shooting sparks towards us Robot Man shot up like a wild animal and took off through the jungle.

Rushing after him I raised an eyebrow at how effectively he cut through the jungle, it seemed like he was just smashing trees for no reason at this point.

We finally reached the base he had so efficiently broken into, or at least the smoldering remains outside of it.

Walking into the dirt-infested lab of some sort I watched as Cliff searched around sporadically.

"Cliff," I said sternly as I walked up to him "I need you to calm down and tell me what happened."

Sighing he rubbed his head across his metal forehead, probably still a habit from when he had hair.

"An ambush, we didn't see it coming, the rest of the team couldn't have gotten far."

"Robot Man," Cyborg spoke up "I had to reset your internal chrono when I reset you, you've been offline…"

"How long?" Cliff interrupted, getting increasingly agitated "I said how long?!"

"Five months…"

Cliff seemed to slow down in that moment as if he had been dowsed in cold oil and was struggling to get through it, but then I backed up allowing him to slam his fist into a nearby pillar cracking it.

"Five months…" He said, his voice lowering a bit. "why did they have to build me with an off switch?"

Turning back to us he finally looked at the team. "So, you're running with this group? They're just kids."

"Nice to see you to Cliff," I said narrowing my eyes "but these 'kids' weren't the ones who were captured right after they landed."

Realizing what he had implied he lowered his head a little, a seemingly small act, but taking into account his massive size, it was amplified tenfold.

"Sorry Squirt, they got us good this time."

Just as he said that the ground began to shake, as the group turned around, we saw the tops of trees twisting and disappearing into the distance.

"Anyone want to guess what that is?" Cyborg said raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever it is it's the Brain's, which means I can smash it." Robot Man said as he took off into the jungle, a small dust trail lingering behind him.

"Has he ever heard of caution?" Raven said unamused.

Sighing I turned into a cheetah and gave chase with the rest of the Titans behind me.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Same robot, same plan to follow one back to its lair, same god damn cliffside overlooking the base where we would be momentarily breaking into, with Robin rambling on about a plan, but I wasn't listening.

All I could think about was what I would find in there, more so who I would find in there.

The Brain, even thinking about his name brought a sharp pain to my stomach, and I could practically feel my body age, it was as if I never left, but that wasn't reality, Reality was I had the chance to change things, I had the chance to change the course right here and right now.

Should I have gone searching for him sooner? That thought kept seeping into my head. I kept telling myself I didn't have the resources, I didn't have the knowledge, and I had the whole Titans situation going on so it would have been impossible.

The Brain is defenseless here, all he was… is, a brain on a pole, but that didn't make the task of dealing with him any less… challenging. The entire situation was just fu…

Then the tree trunk went flying past my ear and I could safely say that I was no longer lost in thought.

A bit of coordinated combat to take out the last remaining harvesting robots was simple enough, Cliff taking one of their remaining hulls and… 'repurposing' it was a battering ram to get into the base was an added bonus, however.

Then I heard the voice "Oh. Look. The. Little. Green. One. How. Nice. A. Family Reunion."

I zeroed in on the source of the voice. Situated next to four different containment units I saw the short cyborg sitting there, watching us.

I could feel it wanting to be released. All the anger, hate, all the suffering I was forced to endure, all of it came crashing down as I looked at that skull decal on its' face.

I felt myself moving to take a step, but I forced myself to wait. Then the team jumped down from our little entrance and hell broke loose.

I tore through the countless Nazi robot look-alikes as I made my way straight for the Brain. I ignored all shouts from the team, any fancy moves the team wanted to pull off was fine, as long as it didn't involve me.

"Beast Boy!" Mento shouted as I passed the Doom Patrols containment units, but I passed by him with only one thought in my mind.

That was until a giant gorilla stood in my way.

Monsieur Mallah was a funny creature, he thought he had hyper-intelligence of man without his shortcomings, in the end, that's exactly what ended him.

However, if I was going to entertain this younger version of him I would beat him at his own game.

Two giant apes now wrestled in the middle of a battlefield, both trying to tear each other's throats out. It wasn't like Mallah was hiding it, so why should I?

A piece of rebar and concrete turned out to make a very effective club which caught my opponent off guard.

One blow to the chest was enough to send him flying, it was such a satisfying sight, a fully grown, hyperintelligent ape tumbling through the air. It was so magnificent that it ended up costing me a grazing by an energy beam near the ribs as I reverted back to human form.

Whipping around to face the android foolish enough to shoot me I brought a good kick to the hands and caught the now loose gun in midair.

Blasting the android to pieces I looked around to the chaos now unleashed in the middle of the Brain's base. The Doom Patrol and Titans seemed to go hand in hand, both amplifying each other's strengths and nullifying weaknesses.

Raven and Negative man seemed to be the most effective, followed by Cliff and Cyborg, but I wasn't here to see who played well together, I was here to hunt.

Turning to where the Brain should have been I checked the remaining energy left in the rifle, it would do. A rifle wasn't my best choice, but seeing that I wasn't able to use anything else at the moment it would just have to work for now.

The Brain rolled as fast as he could towards the bay door which I knew hid a rocket. It was such a stereotypical plan, escape in a rocket… it just sounds dumber when you say it.

Mallah had just gotten up and was limping his way to his master's side. I mentally kicked myself as I saw the yellow container still strapped to his back.

Rushing towards the Rocket I dodged as the same array of energy shield projectors came out the walls.

I was unlucky enough to have a few lock on to me this time. It was incredibly difficult for me to dodge the incoming purple beams. What stopped me dead in my tracks was Mento's shouts.

"GO after him Beast Boy!"

Looking over my shoulder I could see them all. It was their fault entirely, they had decided it was best to look like a photo op and intern they were now stuck behind the purple energy field I had just managed to evade.

Looking back towards the rocket I saw Mallah beginning to enter with the brain at his side.

Making up my mind I dashed towards the rocket, I could hear, no feel the rocket's boosters startup, even with the base being a self-destruct protocol around us.

Still moving I twisted my torso and press the trigger of the rifle. Red beams shot all up and down the walls followed by a trail of explosions as they impacted the protruding turrets currently keeping the two teams captive.

The rocket began to move right as I reached the door which was now jammed shut. Not thinking and moving on autopilot, I wrapped the rifle's sling around my arm. Shifting my hands into the claws of some beast I thrust them into the side of the craft. I wasn't specific, just something to dig into the aluminum outer shell of the escape craft. The moment I felt my feet leave the foot I dug my feet in as well.

I wasn't afraid of heights, but I couldn't help but feel concerned as the rocket cleared the base and began to reach the lower atmosphere.

No longer in sight of my teammates, I released some dark energy from my right hand and thrust it between the two door panels. Tearing them off, I fought against the wind and forced myself into the main cabin.

Mallah's face was priceless, I had never seen an ape look surprised, but somehow, he pulled it off with such magnificence. It was too bad that it felt my feet hit it only seconds later.

Landing hard on the floor I turned my attention to the real star of the show. I could only imagine what emotion the brain would have displayed if he still had a face. If he could even have emotions anymore.

Knocking him over effortlessly with the push of my hand he fell to the floor with a satisfying metallic ring. Unwrapping the sling of the rifle I brought it up to the glass dome that contained the one remain a human organ of the Brain.

For the slightest of moments, I felt it, the flicker of doubt. An unwillingness to do this, but at the same time all of them came crashing back;

JasonStarVictorGarthJinxJericoKarenAntoniaMalcomRoseLeonidWallyRyukuKoleJohnRosa… everything came rushing back.

Names, faces all of it, all of it hit me in one wave with one voice raising its' voice above all other noise. One that had to belong to a crimson-skinned and wide grinning face.

 _Do it… you won't get another chance… , besides, if the rocket were to blow up… no evidence._

And in that moment, I didn't see the brain, all I saw was the monster that lay beneath. What _I_ had been one of few to truly see.

 _All you need to do is squeeze. It'll be over, the pain, the nightmares… just… sqeeeeze._

I suddenly was aware of all seven muscles in my trigger finger. For the first time since I came here, I was certain about something.

I squeezed.

 **Oh man I really am sorry, it's been a month since I updated and I feel pretty bad. Here we are again though and I hope you all enjoyed… even if it was delayed a few days.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Who's ready to mess with the Teddy? Hmmm…**

 **Plutonimus- Bro…. you literally wrote over 1k words, when I said speculate I didn't mean write a story! That being said I will try to answer questions. First, this story is planned out, I don't make it up as I go along, that being said if an idea strikes me one day in class and I want to incorporate it then I see if it will fit logically and if it does it goes in, but there is a concrete roadmap if that's what you mean, it's just the roads between the main points that can change.**

 **Second, love the speculation, though you might be overthinking some things, and I will confirm Jason Todd is Red X … I didn't really leave that obscure I even said his name, but I think I have it explained rather well and interesting… just wait for it.**

 **Lastly, it seems I have accomplished my goal, you seem extremely invested in the story, I to hate it when good stories simply end, so if I (god forbid) can't continue for some reason I will A) let you all know and B) either post a story outline or super simplified version, or find someone to finish it for me.**

 **Thanks once again.**

 **Beakers47- Thanks so much for the support, hold tight season 5 is planned to be wild.**

 **mochafraptor- exactly what I want you to do sir.**

 **xzxzxzxzx- Why to thank you, hope you like this one.**

 **Alright, ladies and gentleman quick announcements. Before we continue into season 5 I warn you should rewatch it, it's not exactly linear in any way so I thought people should refresh on it, though I doubt that you all need that.**

 **Also, finals and school are kinda tieing me down, so you get the next chapter this Friday (possibly) and then ill be MIA for the next 2 weeks so, sorry I don't have your fix**

 **Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.**

 **Until Next Time**


	54. Chapter 54: Consequences

sAtaraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 54: Consequences

 _Click_

 _._

 _._

 _Click_

 _._

 _._

 _Click Click… Click Click Click_

I practically roared as I tossed the rifle aside, one shot, one shot and it would have been over. I had powered when I picked up the rifle, I hadn't even shot it…. oh yeah….

Suddenly I screamed. Looking down I saw the brains forehead had turned green and random arching shots of electricity were shooting out of what would classify as his body.

Falling to the ground and violently convulsing, I could head Mallah groaning and getting up. The powerful wind coming from the open door brushed across my burning skin, giving me some relief as Mallah got on his feet.

Slowly he came to the aid of his master. Lifting him up the Brain said something, something I couldn't quite make out because I was still reeling around on the floor as if I was having a seizure.

My skin felt as if it were bursting into flame as I was roughly picked up by the enormous hands of Mallah.

I briefly felt a squeeze before I began to feel the rushing of air against my skin.

Gasping for air it felt as if I could barely get any into my lungs as I felt myself begin to pick up speed in the higher atmosphere.

It would have been a good view if I had any control over my muscles, and that was exactly what I was fighting for control over.

I was trying my best to get flat out against the wind, but I could barely control where my hands were.

Shutting my eyes was a battle all its own, but when I did I forced myself to steady my breathing. Just like that, I was a kid again.

" _Focus on it, just that animal, feel what it would feel, don't let it overcome you, let it work with you."_

And just like that, I was back to a place I had forgotten, a place I knew two lifetimes ago.

" _We're just going to start off easy."_

 _A light breeze brushed against my skin as I inhaled the light odor of flowers. The warm summer sun radiated onto my exposed skin. It was like a dream or a fuzzy memory of a dream._

" _Now close your eyes," The almost heavenly voice said "picture the animal, imagine what it would look like.. sound like… move like."_

 _I did just that, I could feel my body shift, bones melting away and relocating to make space for new, rearranged organs_

" _Very good gar!"_

 _I could almost feel my beak smile as I looked up at the towering figure. With the sun above the person's face, I could only make out a silhouette as its' hands moved towards my body._

Opening my eyes, I saw I was only a few hundred feet from the ground.

The twitching and convulsions were gone, and with the newfound freedom from my own body, I went through the steps.

I could feel myself soaring the sky's over the great plains, I could picture myself diving on prey, I was an eagle.

I felt each limb change, the bones shifting and rearranging themselves to accommodate my new form. Opening my eyes I felt a jolt of adrenaline as I was just above the canopy of the jungle.

Throwing out my wings I tried to slow myself, but it was too little too late. I crashed into the treetops, hard.

As I fell from limb to limb, I quickly tried morphing into a monkey. I reached out trying my best to grab onto a branch, a vine, anything.

I felt my hand grasp something and wrapped my hand around it.

As the vine reached the end of its length it snapped as it was pulled taught.

Falling once again I couldn't help from morphing back into human form. I reached out in vain trying to find something to grasp, only to be abruptly stopped by the ground.

I just laid there for a moment, a few spasms running through random limbs, not having the will to move my body the air in my body slowly leaving my lungs.

I didn't know how long I was there and I didn't care the least until I heard the sound of brush moving.

Groaning I figured it was best if I got up to meet them, no use lying down. Rolling over I forced myself to get up, only staggering when a few muscle spasms in my arm almost made me fall over.

Resting on my knee I steadied myself against a nearby tree and tried to get myself on my own two feet.

"Friend, you require assistance."

I grimaced as I was forcefully brought to my feet by two very powerful Tamaranean arms.

As soon as she let me go I failed to support my own weight, quickly leaning against the tree I knew I was going to sore the next couple of days.

Turning to the entire group as they appeared out of the brush I sucked in my breath.

There they were, the four of them, I hadn't given it much thought in the base, but now, just standing here, it was an infinitely stranger feeling.

Out of all the Titans, Raven seemed to notice my need to use the tree as support. Without so much as a word, she threw up constructs to support me, almost like a set of crutches.

"Thanks," I muttered. A simple nod was all I received.

Mento didn't seem to care at all.

"Beast Boy, we need to know what happened."

"Alright," I said trying to stop a muscle twitching in my hand by stretching it "can we finish this back at the ship?"

Mento just frowned "No, we need any bit of info we can get our hands on, do you know what he's planning?"

"Yeah, it was kinda hard to miss the big ass battery an ape had stuck to his back," I replied glaring.

Silence followed, neither the Titans nor the rest of the Doom Patrol wanted to intrude on this conversation.

"Then you should know what he plans to do with it, so we need to get moving."

"Yeah, back to the ship, if you hadn't noticed it's getting dark, and a storm is rolling in, so we're heading back to the T-Ship."

"Who exactly do you think leads this team?" Mento said bending down.

"I'm not on your team anymore, you were the one who ditched me, remember?"

Using Raven's constructs I started past him, but he shot his hand out in front of me, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Your job,"

"You haven't faced the Brain in a long time Beast Boy, what makes you think these kids can handle this?" He said gesturing to the Titans who all glared.

"For starters… they weren't the ones who had to be rescued."

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Back at the T-Ship Cyborg and Robin scrambled to get tarps out over our head as the first droplets of the storm crashed down around us.

Now with a makeshift shelter Cyborg went about examining me. Requesting I at least removed the upper portion of my uniform I grimaced as I lifted my arms up and pulled it off.

"Ouch…" Cyborg said as he saw the state of my skin.

I could practically smell seared flesh, looking over my arms my skin had turned shade of green darker, a few areas even turning black.

"I don't really have anything for this Green Bean…" Cyborg said regretfully.

I frowned but nodded, it wasn't the worst thing in the world, it could have been much much worse. Image if it stopped my heart…

"Your hand always do that?" Cyborg asked gesturing to my left hand.

Raising an eyebrow, I watched as it seemed to have an incoherent shudder to it.

"I can't tell if you have nerve damage, well have to do an analysis at the Tower, but until then," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head "please don't get so much as a static shock."

Gathering up his supplied he walked away to return it to its proper place, but not before leaving me a water and a mumble about drinking it. It wasn't even a minute after he left me alone did I overheard Mento talking to Robin about reviewing some reconnaissance footage.

Reclining back in my chair I didn't have the energy to get up. It felt as if my feet were anchored to the ground by a block of lead and I wasn't in the mood to put in the effort.

It was only after I felt my eyes begin to droop that I heard a Tamaranean speak beside me.

"Friend Beast Boy, can I talk with you?"

I rubbed my face with my hand, trying my best to rub away the annoyance that I was feeling, but in the end, I just nodded. Picking up the water Cyborg left me I started to take a swig.

"Why are you and Raven fighting?"

She was lucky that she was beside me and not in front of me, as a mouthful of water came shooting out of my mouth. Coughing a few times, I looked over to meet her eyes.

"What are you talking about Star?"

Floating lazily in the air on her side, Starfire brought her hand up to support her head, "Raven and you have been acting, strange, may I ask why that is?"

Shaking my head, I sighed "What exactly have we been doing strange Star?"

Shifting to a crossed leg style of sitting in the air Starfire pouted, "You have not tried to make any jokes towards her, and she had kept away from you since we defeated Trigon."

Throwing my hands up in the air I plastered a suppressed expression on my face "Oh, you got us Star, you exposed us for acting normal."

"I would not consider that normal."

Leaning back in my chair I sighed "It is to me," hearing some shouting coming from Mento's area I shook my head "I think Robin might need you."

Looking in the direction of the commotion, Star immediately hovered in their direction. Looking over I could see both team's leaders bickering over something, whatever it was it was unimportant.

Even with the noise in the background I finally felt myself falling back into the realm of Morpheus when a hand clamped down on my shoulder.

"Beast Boy?"

"Rita," I replied, already annoyed with Star disturbing my sleep and now with her.

"Since when did you call me Rita?" She asked coming around to face me,

Pulling up a chair she sat down, looking as if she were about to have an actual conversation, I pushed myself up in my chair.

"Since I haven't seen you in two years."

Looking over her shoulder when a rather large shout was heard she casually turned back to me with a smile. "It looks like you didn't need us at that time."

I shrugged as I took another swig from my water. I wasn't really into this conversation always.

"It's not like we haven't known where you were, well Mento and I really."

"Never thought about stopping in for a visit?" I asked.

Leaning forward with she frowned "You know how Mento is, always has the mission in mind."

"Yeah, I know exactly what he's like."

Another shout and we both looking in its direction this time and saw Cyborg getting out more equipment. Sighing I rubbed the back of my head. I could feel some of the muscles twitch as they ran through my hair, but I wasn't worried about it… yet.

"Your new team seems rather nice."

"Yeah,"

"It's not every day that you have a protege of Ba…"

"He doesn't like talking about it," I said cutting her off.

"But he does seem to like your orange skinned friend though."

Rolling my eyes, I closed them with little hesitation " it's not like _everyone_ knows, he's the only one in denial."

Reclining back in her chair she smiled warmly at me. "Doesn't hurt to have someone like Cliff on the team either, must be nice to not work on all the tech."

"Yeah, it's nice," I said. With my eyes closed, I gestured to all the equipment lying around us "as you can see."

.

.

"though your Demoness worries me."

Opening my eyes and leaning my head forward I raised an eyebrow "What exactly _worries_ you?" I asked cautiously.

Tilting her head, she sighed "Garfield,"

"Don't use that name…"

"Alright… but, I did some research, pulled some old contacts…"

"Yeah," I said rubbing my eyes.

.

.

"You do realize what she is right?"

"Yes," I said glaring.

Rubbing her hands together she looked around as if to see if anyone else was near "Listen, I don't think you're going to like what I have to say…"

"Then don't say it."

"I'm trying to help Beast Boy, I've heard stories from others, a certain British contact to be precise, demons aren't to be taken lightly."

"I know," I said rolling my eyes "Raven is only half demon, she's fine."

"I'm not worried about her, am worried about your team… about you." She said leaning forward.

Groaning I pinched the bridge of my nose "You don't have to worry, I _… the team_ is perfectly fine."

"I know you think that you don't need help now, but in the future…. It's best if…"

"What exactly is this about Rita, if you're gonna babble about warning then I'll close my eyes and actually get some sleep!" I said raising my voice.

"Then let me be direct… I've noticed how she acts around you,"

"Its Raven, she always acts like that," I said.

"I watched while you ran off to fight Mallah, she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure you were safe,"

"We're a team, we're supposed to do that."

"She didn't do it for anyone else."

"What's your point?"

"You don't want a demon," "Half-demon "Any demon, watching you like that!"

Throwing up my hands I found the motivation to stand up, "So what exactly do you want, for us to kick her off the team!"

She didn't say anything, she just looked at me.

Realizing what she meant I threw out my arm and pointed to the opposite side of the tent.

"Go,"

"Beast Boy,"

"I said go," I growled.

"Just listen…"

Pushing her back, she fell off her chair and into the mud. "I SAID GO!"

"What the hell is going on?" Mento barked as he began to march over to us.

Growling as he walked up, I didn't bother facing him, I simply walked out into the rain, wishing I could have it wash all this away.

 **Guess what? I'm BACK! Well I never left, I had this chapter laying around, but I wasn't able to proof it because how was I supposed to know I wasn't allowed to take a laptop with me to visit family? Well here I am! What you guys think,**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- *Not NEW you're the same* A vain squeeze sir, a vain squeeze.**

 **Plutonimus- Sorry for long wait, defiantly not my fault.**

 **Guest- You yes you! Hopefully I make it interesting.**

 **Mochafraptor- HOW BOUT NOT!**

 **Beakers47- We'll see more of that soon!**

 **DoodleMeNow- Well here you are sir, hope you enjoy the continuing story.**

 **xzxzxzxzx- Here you are!**

 **Alright here we go, on a different note this may be the wrong place to write this but I would like your thoughts. So, I saw The Last Jedi and unfortunately it makes completely no sense and the story was incredibly incoherent. That being said I was planning on writing an AU for the sequel trilogy afterwards, but after seeing the film I'm going to move that up to after this fic. So now the only thing is do I want to do a prequal trilogy as well? Tell me what you guys think!**

 **That's all for this week, no idea if I'll be back next week, but we'll see!**

 **Until Next Time.**


	55. Chapter 55: Of Compromises and Failures

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 55: Of Compromises and Failures

The cold wind whipped me as I sat on a sturdy branch roughly 30 ft in the air. Down below I could hear the sounds of the camp, but I wasn't exactly in a big rush to go back down.

How could I just walk back into all this and not expect to be overwhelmed?

Rubbing my temples with my eyes closed I continued to try and calm down over what Rita had just said.

"Kick her off the team…" I mumbled to myself.

I had known Rita never truly liked the Titans in general, but never a single teammate. It must be that strict Christian upbringing that I hardly remember anyways.

Truthfully? Faith is overrated.

Hearing the sound of a grappling hook go off I knew just who to expect. Opening my eyes, it was just in time for the weight of one black haired teen to come land right next to me.

"Robin," I mumbled.

"Beast Boy." He replied as he sat down next to me.

Looking over at him I noticed how he had his cape pulled around himself trying to keep the majority of his body dry. I wondered if he had practiced that in Gotham, sitting atop those buildings during long nights while on patrol.

His once pristine hair was matted against his head, it wasn't like he would hesitate to spike it back up though. What bothered me the most was his slouch? A small detail, but to me, you might as well have set off a firework. Dick only slouched like that after he had a verbal battle with someone who held 'rank' over him or some traumatic event had unfolded.

I was inclined to believe it was the former.

"We're getting everyone together, we're gonna discuss what we're we need to do with the Brain's new base."

"I'll be right down," I said as another gust of wind whipped against our bodies.

Shielding his face Robin rolled his shoulders once the wind died down.

"Cyborg said he wants Raven to look at those burns."

Pushing off the branch I was just about to drop down, looking at the ground I spoke up "I'm fine.". What Robin didn't notice was the twitch in my right hand.

Landing, I heard the sound of Robin landing behind me as I made my way towards to tent.

Cyborg had done his best to clear an area for us all to meet together, it wasn't perfect, the ground was muddy, the air was sticky, but we would make due. They were all centered around a small table which had a few maps laid out on it.

Seeing us arrive Mento cleared his throat and some quiet conversations between different team members died down.

"Now that we're all here," He said, eying me specifically "Let's get down to business."

Pulling up a picture of a mountain range and some coordinates on a monitor he pointed to the largest peak.

"The Brain's main base is located here, we need to infiltrate it and destroy his new Black Hole Synthesizer."

Looking over at me he nodded "Beast Boy, you're with us."

"Excuse me?" I said I was hardly surprised.

"You'll be with the Doom Patrol."

"I'm not with the Doom Patrol any more Mento."

"You are today," he said crossing his arms.

"No… no, I'm not, I'm a Titan and if you want me to go with you then the Titans come along."

Mento frowned as he shook his head "No, they're not ready, they would only slow us down."

Throwing up my arms I looked at him incredibly "Cut the crap Mento, we're not the ones who got captured, you did, if you don't want our help just say and we'll leave you here alone to deal with this!"

"Beast Boy," Robin mumbled trying to get me to calm down, but I wasn't going to take this lying down this time.

"If you expect me to go running off into the jungle with you Mento, you might want to take a second look."

Signing Mento rubbed his eyes "Do you realize what the Brain is building Beast Boy, a machine that generates a black hole, millions of people will die!"

"Then take us with you, all of us."

"They've never faced anyone like this before!" Mento shouted.

Crossing my arms, I smirked, "You'd be surprised."

Throwing up his arms Mento turned around and crossed his arms. Staring out into the rain I could only imagine what was going through his head.

"From where I'm standing Mento," I said as he turned around to face me "that's the best offer you're going to get."

Narrowing his eyes, I could practically hear his teeth grinding together.

.

.

.

"Fine."

Turning back towards the table he quickly marked down a route and our final destination.

"That's the path Beast Boy, have your team ready in five."

I nodded but before I could turn away he continued. "There'll be no stopping, no breaks, we're going to punch through every roadblock in our path and if they can't keep up, we won't be waiting."

Nodding again I turned back to the Titans, it was time to get this over with.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

There's nothing more horrible than marching through a jungles dense undergrowth right after it rained. The ground was so saturated that it had turned into a thick mud impeding our progress.

More than once Cyborg and Robot Man had to be saved from being bogged down, it was a shame we had to leave them to finish the two towering robots that had come crashing out of the jungle.

Those lucky enough to have flight, which only included Starfire and Raven, were looked on enviously by the rest of our group for their ability to hover over the swampy mess.

Needless to say, that when we finally broke out of the jungle there was a relief, but then it was trucking through a barren desert.

Somehow mud was superior to sand. Multiple times we all had to empty out our boots, excluding beast Boy, he simply morphed into a camel.

At times like these, I thanked Lucius Fox for the lightweight fiber my cape was made of, though it's dark color meant it was absorbing quite a lot of heat from the sun. Fighting my urge to rip it off and give myself some air we continued on into the desert, at least until the first shell hit.

At the first hint of the whistling sound cutting through the air, everyone fell to the ground. Both Raven and Mento put up shields as the explosions threw lethal shrapnel across the desert.

Slowly, the rest of the group picked themselves up with Negative Man leaving his body to scout. Turning away from him I looked over all the other Titans to make sure they hadn't been hit.

As Negative Man came back down Mento walked up to him, a man who knew he could trust his team to read him and give him what he wanted, almost like someone else I used to know.

"Tanks, lots of them."

Turning to Elasti-Girl, Mento nodded. Nodding as well, Elastic Girl grew to a towering size, I would have been even more amazed if it hadn't given me a bit of long-needed shade.

"Star, I need you to help her," I said, I wasn't too enthusiastic as I knew they would have to do this alone, but I also knew Starfire could take care of herself.

Like he had done this hundred of times, once she took off Mento whipped up a small sandstorm to cover our path away from the fighting.

Explosions rocked the ground as we all ran across the desert and into a narrow cavern and like a neatly made house greeting its guest we ran straight into a minefield.

"Mines, my favorite." Negative Man commented sarcastically.

Taking the mines up into the air with him, he quickly gestured to the ridgetops beside us.

It wasn't a moment too soon as a torrent of laser fire came raining down on us.

Within an instant, Raven and Mento had shields up to protect what remained of the group.

"Raven, can you make us a path?" I asked as I gestured to the continuation of the valley.

"I can, but I'll have to stay here," She replied while looking at Negative Man's limp form.

Nodding I watched as a corridor of black energy sliced through a path in front of us.

"I can give us some cover," Mento growled as he formed an umbrella of psychic energy.

"Beast Boy you ready?" Robin asked as Beast Boy shifted into a cheetah.

"GO!"

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

It was actually kind of pathetic. Mento, standing there with this hands on his knees, gulping down air like he had just surfaced from a 100ft dive. He was supposed to be better than this. Robin, on the other hand, was fine. I was sure he was used to long, drawn out chases.

As we finished the rest of the journey I kept thinking about how we would enter the new base. Correction, how _I_ would enter the base without the others behind me.

If I could simply get the black hole generator going without Robin or Mento even entering the base that would be the best course of action.

When we reached the ridgeline overlooking the facility itself I raised an eyebrow. The enormous tower that rose into the sky, the base was nuzzled in the small canyon was a bit larger than I remembered, but then again, the Brain loved to be outlandish as possible whenever he could.

The large turrets protecting the main blast door were within our ability to 'bypass' but I wanted an alternative way in. Scanning the hillside, I found it.

"There," I said pointing at a what would appear to them as a small dot on the side of a hill.

"What _is_ that?" Mento asked as he squinted trying to figure out what it was, but I was already moving.

Stealthily we made our way over to the anomaly and upon arriving at it they raised their eyebrows.

"An air vent," Robin said with a small smirk.

Turning to them I smiled "Once I'm in I'll lower the defenses, you both should be able to get through without any trouble."

Readying myself to morph into something small enough to slip through the grates Mento spoke up.

"And just how are we supposed to know it's all clear, what kind of signal are you going to give up."

Rolling my eyes, I honestly wanted to not give them one "Well, either the turrets down there won't shoot you to pieces or you'll hear enough explosions to make up your own mind."

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

The vents turned out to be large enough for me to shift into a bagger, and I did my best to keep any claws clanging against metal to a minimum. I was lucky enough to not cross paths with any ventilation fans along the way, in turn passing up any chance of being sliced up along the way.

When I finally came to a vent I peered down into the room below, and to the best of my ability it seemed clear, however, I wasn't completely sure, as only a small cage light lit the room with minimal effectiveness.

Easily slipping through the grate with a smaller form, I dropped down to the floor with a resounding thud. Looking around I almost panicked but recomposed myself when I realized there wasn't an immediate danger.

Lining the walls, in small recesses large enough for a man to stand, stood hundreds of General Immortus' own battle droids. They all stood there silently, seemingly either shut down or in a sort of sleep state. Quickly making my way to the door I was determined to get out of the room before one woke up.

I winced as the screech of metal against metal came from the door as it slid open. In the hallway, I looked in both directions to see that it was clear and headed off in the most likely direction to take me to the black hole generator. There was no need to lower the defenses, Robin and Mento didn't need to be here for what I was going to do.

The only thing that made noise the halls was the light thud of my boots as I rushed through the seemingly endless hallways. It wasn't long after that I noticed the walls of the corridor turning more into unfinished stone and I had finally reached the center of the base.

Completely empty, the room housing the Black Hole Generator seemed even larger than I remembered. I walked briskly towards it, eventually, the Brain wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of using his new toy.

Climbing a ladder to the second story platform I quickly reached the control panel.

Looking over the controls of the machine I started programming it to target the base itself. The Brain had already targeted Jump, so switched the coordinates just like before. It was only when I finished did I hear the light electric twirl of wheels.

"Well. Well. The. Little. One. Strikes. Again." The mechanical monotone of the Brain said.

Slowly turning he was just resting there, without Mallah.

Then a loud thud echoed behind me, there he was.

"Funny. I. Tracked. You. Since. The. Canyon. Did. You. Not. Think. I. Could. Watch. You. In. My. Own. Base?"

My left hand was clenched into a fist, but my right simply twitched slightly, I didn't dare speak, if I did I would simply explode.

"That. Is. Not. A. Problem. Now." Behinds me I could hear the hiss of the machine as Mallah inserted the glorified battery.

Suddenly the base rocked lightly with an explosion that was muffled by the thick steel protecting us.

I heard the faint clapping of shoes running up the base of the machine, but I didn't dare turn away from the Brain.

"They're assaulting the base!" Shouted the withered voice of General Immortus before be broke into a raging cough.

"Crush. Them. General. We. Will. Deal. With. This. One."

Hearing the General hobble away we steadied ourselves when another explosion rocked the base this one much harder than the last.

"Your. Friends. Will. Be. Crushed. They. Wil.."

"You don't know my team." I barked back, I felt myself coiling up, ready to strike but waiting for something. On my right hand, I could feel the ring heating up, seemingly reading itself.

"I. Must. Say. Though. I. Was. Surprised. When. You. Followed. Our. Escape." He said "Perhaps. Even. Impressed. … A. Decapitating. Strike. Most. Audacious…. And. To. Leave. Your. Precious. Team."

"But. Now. I. Declare. Checkmate… Mallah."

It wasn't even down to muscle memory, I hadn't used the body in the past, it was sheer instinct instead. Mallah didn't even have the time to register what hit him, even if he did he would never believe what I had done.

Twisting towards him at speeds that would send someone else's head spinning, I reached out and lassoed him with dark energy and pulled him towards myself. Throwing out a morphed fist I couldn't even register what I had made, but the impact force sent him flying over the guardrail.

I was breathing heavily, not because of exhaustion, but of exhilaration, I turned to the brain.

"A. Nice. Party. Trick. From. The. Witch. But. It. Will…" He was cut off as I threw kicked him off the top catwalk.

"She's not a witch!" I yelled as he flew.

Landing with a resounding thud, his cylindrical body rolled for a few feet before I jumped down and stopped it.

When I spoke this time my voice was barely audible, for some reason it was hard to even put these words together.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone, anymore."

"Is. That. So? A. Child. Such. As. Yourself. Does. Not. Dirty. Their. Hands. You. Will. Do. Nothing."

"Watch me."

"I. Will…. Rouge."

A sharp pain exploded in my lower back. I knew exactly who it was by the cold touch of the now embedded arm that had so expertly slipped between plates of Kevlar.

Twisting forced the assassin back, the cold spear pulled from my back, I growled in pain. Lining up for a shot at her, I was blindsided by a large mass of brown fur.

Thrown across the room I landed and rolled a few times, leaving a trail of blood leaching from my back and onto the floor.

Forcing myself to look up II saw Mallah bring the Brain to the counsel and smash the button once. I smiled, they hadn't bothered to check the coordinates.

My attention immediately went to Rouge who was lazily swinging her arms which were now blades.

"Zo, dizappointing, I thought perhapz you would be more grown up." He said sarcastically.

Picking myself off the ground I was just in time to block Rouge's upward slash.

Smiling I latched onto her harm and brought my foot down onto her thigh, hard.

While she had almost the same abilities as Plastic Man, her body could only be ridged or flexible at a given time, meaning bones could break. She howled in pain as I watched the machine startup.

Looking at the howling figure on the ground I almost felt pity. But then again, the Rouge I knew had quite a few more years to perfect her fighting style, a lesson I was all too familiar with.

"You're sloppy Rouge, you need to drill on lower body defense."

It could have been taken as sarcasm, but to me was completely honest.

I started towards the door, there was no need to stick around as the coordinates simply couldn't be changed once the machine started. Mallah seemed to realize this as he grabbed the Brain and made for the exits.

I instantly began to run after them, but when I felt a large amount of my lower back begin to become wet and hot liquid soak into my clothing I thought twice. Then the pain hit again, adrenaline that had rushed through my veins began to wear off and I knew I was simply in no shape to continue. Leaving this base before the generator created a black hole would also be a problem, as I didn't even remember where we had come in before.

I winced as I walked towards where I thought we had left last time an explosion came from the far wall on the other side of the room causing a cloud of dust to expand throughout that side of the room.

"So much for memory," I mumbled to myself.

I briskly made my way over to the cloud of dust that was now beginning to clear, and when I was finally able to see the figures walk out of the dissipating dust I put on a smile.

"Shows' over folks, we need to get out of here," I said waving my hands in the air while trying to ignore the pain of doing so.

There in front of me stood the combined teams of the Titans and Doom Patrol, battered and sporting more than a fair share of bruises and cuts, but otherwise unsaved.

"The generator…" Mento said pushing forward, but I stopped him.

"Don't worry, it's all taken care of."

I wasn't sure it was the bloodied hands pressed against his chest or the fact that a black hole had formed above us but I was quickly carried out by someone. It was getting hard to tell with the blood I had lost or perhaps the exhaustion setting in, but we were out of there in no time whatsoever.

And while we watched the base being devoured I thought about how Rouge must have crawled after her boss. I couldn't have cared less, she was resourceful enough to survive just about anything.

I was just glad we could finally go home.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

With a wrapping that reached around my lower body, we said goodbye to the Doom Patrol.

They had piloted one of their spares down to the Amazon by remote and we had stayed until it had arrived.

In a clearing both teams thanked each other, Mento had still been cold and I had returned that attitude. Now climbing into my cockpit, I strapped myself in for the long ride that would take us home.

It was uncomfortable enough that I had a small hole in my lower back that would agitate me all the way there, but I would try to get some sleep with a giant engine right next time me.

Doing preflight tests, I stopped for a moment to examine my right hand, it was still twitching, even as I went to flip a switch it still shook.

Reaching out with my left arm I caught it, as a young boy might try to catch a bug.

I could feel the individual muscles firing off inside of it, but I was too tired for worry. I forwent all my checks, shifting them onto the others, I was too tired, and I needed to get some sleep, I doubted the engine would be any hindrance to that as leaned back into my seat and closed my eyes.

.

.

.

 **Sorry?**

 **Have and extra-long chapter as a condolence!**

 **I guess I should be apologizing after leaving you guys hanging for two months. Life just got in the way and I don't know if it was me being lethargic or writers block but whenever I sat down to write I got off track. I'm not really happy about this chapter, I cut way too many corners and kinda rushed the middle of the episode, but honestly it's a lot easier to just show it like in the cartoon.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Beakers47- Oh, I do like to keep everyone on their toes, don't I?**

 **Mochafraptor- Thanks man!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Ah, yes a classic, perhaps another time?**

 **Plutonimus- 4/10 and the resistance isn't half destroyed there is like 10 people left, but who knows maybe the third will tie up loose ends.**

 **Mackenzie6426- Why thank you, always good to have new faces around here.**

 **So, I'm really on a streak right now and will most likely have a chapter next week, if not on Friday then the weekend. I've asked this before, but I'll ask again, I really hate the pacing for this season, you basically have the beginning, with a few episodes of the Titans recruiting people, then the end with lots of filler episodes in the middle, so I think that it's going to be a shorter season.**

 **Until Next Time**


	56. Chapter 56: Immortal

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 56: Immortal

 _I didn't particularly like sneaking around these old underground labs, but I was looking for someone._

 _Some of the intelligence that Lois had given me mentioned a special prisoner in this facility and while I was completely willing to sneak in here via the sewage system, I had no idea who it actually was._

 _It wasn't just some rescue mission though, I had been snooping throughout the above ground levels the best I could without causing any alarm and once I was done here there were plenty of satchel charges I had stashed around the building itself, call it a parting gift._

 _The lower levels were the darkest of the base, a few flickering overhead lights were all that remained of this once pristine laboratory that had housed some of the greatest minds from around the world._

 _Only a skeleton crew worked here nowadays though, the main androids couldn't even be spared to guard whatever was here, so it was either a ruse of there really wasn't much here._

 _As a rat I was well suited for the lower levels, I fit in with the rest of the vermin that crowded the subterranean hallways in droves and not one soldier batted an eye as they stomped past. Whether they were used to the critters or simply couldn't see us was beyond me._

 _I followed a lone guard as he punched a few credentials into an access panel next to a sealed door, we waited a few seconds for the pneumatic swish the doors made when they opened into sealed rooms. It seemed there was no maintenance here whatsoever._

 _Once this door opened I followed the guard inside, the only sound was the repetitive clopping that his shoes made as he walked through the corridor._

 _Unlike the last few rooms, this one was well lit, except that was because human-sized test vats lined the room. An eerie glow emanated from the green liquid that the abominations, housed inside, were suspended in._

 _As we continued to walk I couldn't identify what they or the prior occupants had been trying to accomplish with the barely identifiable specimens that were displayed here. The only distinguishing pieces of them were a few appendages sticking out in one direction or another._

 _As we continued it seemed as though they were becoming more humanoid, but even then, as we finally stopped for the guard to put in new security clearances, the final vat held a tumorous body. The head was what disturbed me the most though, two faces were pulling away from each other, forever stretched out and screaming in agony._

 _Following the guard inside the final room, I noted that there was only a table within, although with my small size I had no way of knowing what was resting on top of it._

" _How're we doing today." He asked, to no one in particular._

 _For a few moments, the room was silent and I stayed as quiet as possible behind the guard and out of his sight for when he turned around. A small vent in the wall that was supplying fresh air would do for the moment._

" _It's alright, you don't gotta say nothing." The guard said as he turned around "I'll be back tomorrow." He said as he waved his hand and left._

 _Noting the closing of the door I came out from the vent and shifted back into a human form._

 _Rolling my joints, I could hear a few of them pop and rolled my eyes at my bodies apparent begrudging. Looking around the room it was sparse as could be, every wall was stainless steel and the only thing visible was a table bolted to the floor._

 _And to my surprise, there was someone here, or what was left of them._

 _A head sat there, with a metal base around the bottom of its' neck. Its face was that of a solid middle-aged man, but there were no blemishes, nothing that would be considered a defect. The facial hair was scraggly, probably a week overdue for a good trimming, but otherwise it the timeless face was impossible to mistake._

 _There on the table was the severed head of Vandal Savage._

 _Honestly, he looked rather pale in comparison to the last time I saw him, but that didn't matter now, what the hell was he doing down here?_

 _He made no notion of recognizing me, in fact, he made no indication that I was in the room at all._

 _When waving my hand in front of his face didn't have any effect I resorted to a smack on the back of the head._

 _A muffled 'oof' could be heard and he snapped his head in my direction with fire in his eyes._

" _I was just at the thousandths decimal point for pi, what do you want, you oversized baboon?!"_

 _For a moment he just glared at me, and then his eyes widened, apparently realizing that I wasn't the guard._

" _Well, well, what do we have here?" The head asked with smugness only an immortal could have._

" _I was going to ask you that as well." I countered._

 _He smiled "Perhaps we can trade stories then," he said, "it's been so long since I've had any good company, the guard is dreadful, always coming in and disturbing me."_

" _YA hear that you little shit!" He barked at the steel door while I raised an eyebrow. "He's barely old enough to accepted to Oxford, how he landed a job here is anyone's guess."_

" _Right…" I started "I'm here because we got information that there was a_ high- _value prisoner here, and to extract them." I put emphasis on high._

 _The millennia-old head snorted "Well, you've come the right place, your grand prize? ME!"_

" _That doesn't explain why you're a head on a table."_

" _Pfff, a prisoner's easier to handle when they don't have arms or legs." He said with a smirk, "Especially when they live forever._

 _They had to put a muzzle on me at first though, it was dreadful, but it was a blessing when it came off, I've never bit another guard after that._

 _Besides they never washed their hands anyways, not very sanitary if you ask me."_

 _I had quite literally spent days exploring this base and all I find is the loney severed head of Vandal Savage, pathetic._

" _Well…. I've got to get going, but nice meeting you; again."_

 _Before I even started towards the vent he cried out. "Woah, do go!"_

 _I rolled my eyes and kept moving._

" _You don't even know why I'm in here!" He shouted._

 _In all honesty, I was pretty interested why he would be kept here, and with the amount of knowledge he held, as well as the connections he once held, it would be strange for his usefulness to go untapped._

" _And if you were to enlighten me I might take you with me."_

" _Let's just say I'm useful."_

 _I didn't even hold back my smile this time "If you were so useful you wouldn't be a disembodied head."_

 _He grunted, begrudgingly agreeing with me "Chalk it up as forgetting the first rule of a revolution."_

" _And for you that is?" I asked raising an eyebrow._

 _The head chuckled a bit "That those who start a revolution rarely live to see the end of it, I guess I've done this too many times and simply forgot, besides I'm immortal it's not like they can kill me outright."_

" _Apparently they can do worse with you begging me to take you along."_

" _I'm serious, just clip me to your belt or something," he said with a desperate voice "I bet I got some handy dandy info on some certain secret bases." He said it like an adult offering a prize to a child and in all seriousness, with his age, it wasn't far off._

 _Judging by his behavior I would be willing to bet that he had cracked more than just a little, but he would be an asset._

 _It took an appalling amount of time to pull his head through the ventilation shaft, the accumulated dust and grime cause his head to look more like an aged mop once we retreated to a distant building._

 _All around us was darkness with sporadic islands of light in the darkness, rarely anyone in Star City had power anymore and like a menacing sentinel, the building in front of me stood clad in green lighting._

 _Looking down at the detonator I knew this would be a thrilling light show. Squeezing the trigger, the building erupted into a blazing fireball one floor at a time. I twisted Savage's head so he had a good view of the fireworks as well._

 _I was surprised when I was met with the sound of him laughing._

 _Defiantly went off the deep end._

 _I loved how I felt the multiple blast waves as each floor exploded, and I watched as the evacuated personnel gazed in horror from the street below. There were only a few guards in there and as corrupt as the original owners of the tower were, even they had fire alarms installed and the guards were obliged to leave the building if they were triggered._

 _I watched for a few more minutes and smiled as the company's signature logo began to fall off the side of the building. It wasn't every day that you saw a two-story Lexcorp sign fall into the streets below._

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

When I realized I was preparing to punch someone I immediately froze. The first thing that came to mind was the silence surrounding me, no noise from the jet engines, then the realization that we were currently in a hanger.

Looking down to my chest I noted the pale hand placed on it, probably to shake me awake and then my own arm that was ready to strike the person who dared to wake me.

Raven was frozen there as well, a slight look of alarm as the arm stretched out to strike her was currently morphed to have scaly skin and claws, something that didn't match the green teen in front of her.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I began to unhook myself from the harness.

Luckily it seemed that had been the only thing that kept me from actually connecting with her. However, I found myself in the precarious position to explain why only my fist was transformed.

While that was what I had planned to do, the idea quickly evaporated when I felt the pain in my back again.

It was much softer now, but it didn't mean it was easy to move. I simply forced myself to get out of my seat and with Raven watching attentively I lifted myself from the cockpit, looking back, my lower seat had a coating of dried chrisom on it.

"Your bandages are horrible," Raven said in her trademark monotone.

"Yeah, figured" I simply mumbled.

"Why does it always seem like I have to carry you to the infirmary."

I actually felt a little hurt by that "That was one time."

After that, the trek to the infirmary was one of silence. I wouldn't let her assist me in any way, even helping support my weight, I had had enough of people helping me around.

When I finally sat down I was mildly exhausted, but quickly perked back up as Cyborg tore off my bandages. Holding back a yelp I preceded to roll my eyes.

"Was that necessary?" I asked

"Entirely," He said with a smile.

Robin was also in, a few deep gashes lined his torso, but nothing I hadn't seen him shrug off when we had no medical supplies for weeks. Starfire was helping him, though she was perfectly fine, it must be nice having alien physiology.

"Let's see if we can do something about that hand," Cyborg said as he went to collect a few medical items with Raven.

Looking down at it I hadn't even noticed how bad it was twitching, convulsing probably was the better word. It was actually a bit of trouble to get my ring off, but when I did I simply shifted it to my left while stretching and closing my hand in a vain attempt to keep the muscles from firing off.

"You're not going to stitch up the giant hole in my back first?" I asked with a small smile.

Cyborg came back with a small scanner in his hands, "I would if it was large enough to need stitches, you've been healing faster."

Raising an eyebrow in an attempt to show I was at least a little surprised I twisted to try and see the wound.

"Stop, you'll only tear the new tissue," Cyborg scolded as he grabbed my right hand and began to go over it with the scanner.

I did as I was told, and as I waited for him to finish his analysis I watched Robin and Starfire walk out. At least some things never changed.

On my back I could feel the warmth of Raven's healing, it seemed that she didn't believe the wound was completely healed. I didn't even expect her to still be here in the first place.

When Cyborg finished his analysis he frowned, "The burns you suffered are already gone, but the nerves in your hand…" He didn't finish.

"They're fucked right?" I said with a sad smile.

Frowning at the language he never the less continued, "Well, perhaps Raven could have a crack at it?" He said looking over my shoulder at her.

"I could give it my best shot." She said the slightest hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Great, why don't you just work on it at meals or work out some sort of schedule for the week," he said while packing all his tools up, "we'll see if there any changes, but now, I think we need to grab a bite to eat." He said with a smile as his stomach growled.

After snatching up any remains of my uniform we all left the infirmary, it was going to be a long week.

 **Ha! For once I'm on time, bet you didn't expect that!**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Good to see you're still here, hanging on till the end I see.**

 **Beakers47- Ah, but only the Brain knows, so how will it go when they meet next? Guess you'll just have to wait.**

 **Alright, guys new chapter next week hopefully! Hope you guys liked that flashback.**

 **Until Next Time**


	57. Chapter 57: Tea, Rituals, and Abduction

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 57: Tea, Rituals, and Abduction

When Robin received a message from Wildebeest two days after we returned, I made sure to keep myself out of that mission.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go… well perhaps a bit, I just had more important matters that I needed to take care of here.

That however made Cyborg petition Robin to let Raven stay at the tower, to continue work on my hand, though I could tell it might never revert to its original state, and if it did it would be under my own body's ability, it would take a more significant amount of time,

I also needed to figure out what I was going to do with the Brain, I couldn't just hunt him down by myself, and where would that leave the team anyway? The most logical thing to do was wait for him to make his final move and simply fight him like before, only this time I knew specifics.

Either way, it didn't help worrying about it here, because the most significant problem facing me now was trying to eat left handed.

The kitchen was quiet and even though I would prefer it that way I could practically feel the concentration radiating off of Raven as she did try to search for any damaged she could repair in my hand.

I just ate my food with growing agitation, I didn't want to be here and even though my hand twitched from time to time it wasn't useless. I had better things to do with my time.

"Alright, that's enough," I said shaking her off my hand I was careful not to knock over the tea she made me produce for her in the process

Getting up I grabbed my dishes and began to walk to the sink, the slightest ray of hope that I would be able to escape this and put my time towards something productive slipped into my mind.

"You can be honest with me."

Why did my luck never hold?

Turning I raised my eyebrow, what had I missed? Could she have possibly figured out something was wrong with me or had she been snooping through my room when I wasn't in it?

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you lie about your parents?" She asked as she took a sip of tea.

Relief washed over my body and I almost couldn't hide a smile. "What gave it away," I asked while pointing to his face "was it the green skin?"

She just stared blankly at me "Actually it was how you treated them."

Rolling my eyes I turned my back to wash the dishes, the warm water soothing my hand and I brushed the plates with a sponge.

"I wouldn't think you were the expert on relationships with parents, you know…" I said, a shameful slight smirk finding its way onto my face even though I wasn't looking at her.

"Well, I never talked that way to my mother, and Mento doesn't seem like the Father type anyways."

I snorted "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Then why did you lie?"

Finishing my cleaning I pulled a towel out of a drawer and dried my hands. Turning back to her I noticed she was out of tea and grabbed the kettle off the stove. I had long given up trying to give her fake brews and taught her how to make the "accidental" recipe.

However, she was never quite able to make it properly.

"You're going to teach me how to brew that properly one day." She said.

She still insisted that I wasn't teaching her properly though.

"Or what, you'll throw me out the window?" _Just like the old days,_ I forgot to mention.

Standing on the opposite counter I poured her some more tea and placed it back on the stove, as much as I could use some I wasn't about to drink it in front of her.

"So," she said while cupping her teas with both hands "whats the real story?"

"The real story," I said with the smallest of smiles, at least until I truly began to think.

The memories were old, too old, but the faces were crystal clear and so was our final moments together, but anything else… it just seemed like a blur.

But then again, the story of that began two lifetimes ago.

"Africa isn't exactly a peaceful place…" I started. She seemed surprised that I was even discussing it.

"My earliest memories are of my parents doing research in the Congo, working with some local tribes. It was… a long time ago," I said.

"So you weren't born with powers?" she asked.

"Why are you prying?" I asked, generally confused as to why this was coming up now, but also trying to deflect to another topic.

"I'm generally curious…" She said while taking another sip of tea.

I sighed and pinched my nose, "Raven, how many times have you heard us talk to each other about our parents?"

"Never," She said shrugging "but no one, other than me, really needed to talk about it."

"No one _wanted_ to talk about it," I corrected her while leaning more heavily into the counter "Besides yours, do you know how many parents we have between the rest of us?"

She shook her head and I put up my index finger, which shook slightly.

"Cyborgs Dad and even he isn't much of a father."

For a moment she just stared at her tea, seemingly thinking about what I had just said, "How do you know that?"

Well shit, after I minor flinch I composed myself and continued onwards.

"I guess you could say pick up on things better," I said "let's keep this between you and me, they've shared these things with me and probably don't want me spouting it all around.

To that, she nodded and I started walking out of the common room.

"Do you think that's just chance?" She asked before I could leave the room entirely, I seriously couldn't get a break.

"What is?" I asked.

"That most of us are orphans," she explained.

"Not at all," I said while putting on a smile "parents wouldn't let their kids roam freely around the country."

At least I could put in that last happy thought.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

"Get up," I said as I threw the book on the ground.

Ever so slowly the book opened and the pages began to swirl into the air, eventually taking the form of a human body.

"I need you to do something."

His eyes narrowed "Do I have a choice?" Malacor asked groggily. I might have felt bad if I had awoken him from a nap if he could nap.

"Perhaps," I said making a point to look directly at still chared pages composing his body.

Sighing he rubbed his brow "What do you need?"

"The Doppelganger."

Shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose he waved his hand "You realize what is required?"

"You taught me, remember."

Heading to a shelf he started to grab different required materials off it "Oh yes, I remember."

"You know why I need you though?"

"You ought to leave the magic stuff to those who were born with an affinity to it." He said as he shook his head, "You're barely capable of wielding that ring."

"Anyone can wield a magical artifact," I said matter-of-factly.

"But you're shit at anything else." He said begrudgingly. "besides, you know well as I do that weak individuals can't handle stronger artifacts."

Laying out a mass of materials I knew it was taking all his willpower to not attack me, after all, if I couldn't bring him out of this pocket dimension, who would find him?

"Do you remember the price?" he asked. I nodded.

As he began to spread out the materials and set up the ritual he spoke up again. "Are you considering leaving?"

"What?"

"The only reason someone would want this is to replace themselves, the copied memory, the talents, really the only thing missing is a soul… well, at least a complete one."

"There are some things I didn't mention," he added as he drew out the lines on the ground.

"Being?" I asked.

"Like I told you before, this isn't some amateur spell, this takes a part of your soul and places it in the copy, that being said you will know what it means, right?"

I nodded, I wasn't sure if I was leaving or not, I certainly wasn't planning it, but something kept nagging me, that it was better to have it, and keep it dormant than to need it.

"Hold out your hand," Malachor commanded while simultaneously producing a knife from thin air.

"Nice party trick," I said, as I did as he said.

Taking the knife, he slid it across my palm, barely noticing it he guided my hand over the central pile to the design on the floor.

Squizzing it he let the droplets of blood fall to the pile.

Instantly the design began to glow a blood red, illuminating the immediate area with chrisom light.

"It's working, I hope you cleared your day, it's not the setup, it's the time it takes to complete the ritual that's the longest."

Taking a step back I didn't want to be near this if something were to wrong.

Then a small sensation began in my chest, it was tingling, almost like the muscles in my chest had fallen asleep. Then, it spread, all up and down my body.

Then, it ignited.

"ARGH!" I yelled as I began to write on the floor in pain, it felt as though my entire body had been doused in gasoline and set on fire.

"Oh, I forgot to mention one more thing," Malachor said as he walked over to me "Taking a piece of the soul _really_ hurts."

Over the next few hours, only the sound of my screams filled my ears.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

"That's a long drop," Cyborg noted as the three of them stood on the edge of a cliff.

It seemed that whatever Wildabeast had encountered was gone, and Wildabeast himself with it.

"I'm going to go down there, see if there's anything. Robin said.

"I'll stay with the jet, I don't want to get stranded out here if whatever it was is still here."

"I shall come with you," Starfire said as the two of them began walking down the edge of the valley.

Once they were farther from the T-Ship Starfire was the first to speak up.

"This place reminds me of our time in space with that horrible creature."

"Are you going to bring that up now, while we're searching for Wildabeast?" Robin said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Well if you wish to travel in silence then fine." She said while crossing her arms.

Robin almost sighed in relief as they walked on, almost to the bottom of the valley.

"Do you think Raven and Beast Boy are acting weird?"

Robing almost slapped his forehead.

"What are you talking about Star?"

She huffed a little, thinking she would have to explain this completely to him.

"Have you noticed our friends acting, differently, since we defeated Trigon?" She asked, hoping he would say yes.

Shrugging Robin continued walking with eyes glued to their path "They escaped hell, give them a break Star, it's not the easiest thing to forget."

"They just seem so… strange." She said rubbing her chin.

"Exactly how?" Robin said raising an eyebrow.

Starfire, excited to have made some sort of breakthrough almost jumped for joy, but realizing that she would have t convince Robin on circumstantial evidence, she doubted he would do anything.

"For one, they barely argue." She said holing up her finger.

Shaking his head Robin frowned "I lived to see the day that would be unnormal."

Unfazed she held up a second finger "Two, they rarely have contact, apart from Friend Raven healing Beast Boy, I doubt they have seen or talked with one another."

"Star, I think you might be paranoid."

"But I'm not!" she said as she jumped in front of Robin, stopping him in his tracks. "They are not well, either of them, I am afraid it will affect all of us!"

"What do you want me to do Star!" Robin said as he threw his hands in the air. "You want me to lock them in a room together? Oh, wait Raven could just phase out so that's not going to work."

Furrowing her brow, Starfire began to think, just before Robin spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

As Starfire continued to think Robin inspected his find, there on a rock was multiple chips or yellow plastic.

Gathering them up, Starfire seemed to have her moment of brilliance.

"We could have them on a mission together!"

Robin frowned as he lifted the pieces of plastic up to his eyes.

"You know, that's probably not a bad idea."

 **Hello my friends, it's been awhile, but it's the week before finals and I'm gonna push this out. Hopefully, we get more consistent through the summer.**

 **SHOUTOUTS**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Hope we get there one day man!**

 **Beakers47- Yes, I do love torturing you guys, that's the whole point!**

 **mochafraptor- good to be back.**

 **Plutonimus- Damn technology *Hits computer*, oops.**

 **Xzxzxzxzx- Here it is, thanks!**

 **Alright my friends, next chapter brings some goodies for you lot. We got three little superheroes that need chaperoning, and since Robin doesn't want anyone going alone, well. *Hint* I've been planning this for awhile!**

 **Until Next Time**


	58. Chapter 58: Crossroads

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 58: Crossroads

Robin was exhausted. Both physically and mentally. It was nearing three o'clock in the morning and in his poorly lit room he was fighting off heavy eyelids.

The Titans had just landed back at the tower after a grueling fifteen-hour flight from the article circle dealing with Dr. Light, again.

The rest of the team were all resting, and as a yawn escaped his mouth Robin was seriously considering joining them. He could brief them on the new protocols tomorrow, no one was going on a mission alone, or at least that was the plan after Wildabeast went missing.

However, just as he got up from his chair a light beeping noise caught his attention. Following the sound, he made his way over a stack of paper cluttered on top of one of his other desks.

Sifting through it he made his way to the bottom, there, covered in dust and horribly scratched, scrapped, and overall beaten up was a concaved black rectangle.

Grabbing it Robin smirked at the memories it brought back without hesitation he activated it.

It sprang to life, lighting up a keyboard and projecting a hologram at an angle above itself. There, an incoming call was being displayed along with the ID photo, one of a lightning bolt with a red circle around it.

Accepting the call Robin sat back down, now more energized than before. Going through protocol first Robin spoke,

"You shall not be afraid of the terror by night…" There was a long paused which almost made Robin nervous before the other person spoke up,

"Nor of the arrow that flies by day…."

.

.

.

"What are you doing Dick?"

"What do you mean," Robin said as he pulled out a birdarang and began to fiddle with it.

"Don't be smart with me," he nearly shouted, "I've been hearing about the new heroes you've been recruiting!"

A long pause interrupted their discussion. Robin not wanting to escalate this into a full blown argument tried to remedy the situation.

"Alright," He said running his hand through his hair "we're pretty sure that the Brotherhood of Evil got one of our own, and we've been… networking heroes."

"Are you sure? The Brotherhood is usually something the Doom Patrol deals with." A slightly annoyed voice said.

"Listen, Wa…" But Robin was cut off.

"NO! You listen for once," Robin wasn't surprised by the outburst, but it did its job and he leaned back into his seat prepared for the verbal assault that was about to happen.

"Ever since you've made your new team I've been watching, and I always kept quiet when you made a friend outside your little squad, even when _you_ pushed for that stupid eastern team I kept quiet but this has gone far enough!"

"What would you have me do then?" Robin shot back "Wildabeast is missing and we could use all the allies we can get our hands on nowadays."

.

.

.

"You're incredible, you know that?"

Robin just glared at the screen, even though there was no one on it.

"We both know what this is really about, your ego."

"That has absolutely nothing to do with this!" Robin shouted back "If you had joined the Titans when I asked you would see."

"I do see, and all I've been able to tell is that someone wants a League of their own."

Robin scowled and getting up from his chair began to pace. "I hope you realize that _that_ , has nothing to do with the situation we're in right now."

"I think it has everything to do with what you're up to right now." The voice responded.

Pinching the brow of his node Robin just shook his head "I'm past this, I thought you were too." That was a complete lie and Robin knew it, hell they both knew it because neither of them saw themselves ever letting go of it.

"Achoo… you hear that Rob, my allergies to bullshit are acting up again," Robin just shook his head, leave it to him to make a horrible joke right now "just let the damn thing go."

"Listen, contact the Doom Patrol, they can confirm what I'm saying, but please believe me when I say I'm not doing this because of what happened in Bialya!"

There was a pause and for a moment Robin hoped that his friend might for just once shut up and listen.

"Dick," God dammit "I just want…"

But Robin shut him off, he didn't need his past creeping back up on him now, he had bigger issues to deal with.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Raven couldn't believe Robin had actually thought this was a good idea. In his infinite wisdom, Robin had decided that since Wildabeast had gone missing that no team members should be alone on a mission.

Two people for a simple escort mission was simply not necessary, but after their return from Russia and the Arctic circle both Beast Boy and her had been chosen for this task since the rest of the team was investigating an appearance of the Brain's technology somewhere in the Sahara.

On the bright side, the remote region that they had been sent to had rather nice weather, much better than the heat of the Sahara.

Currently, she was standing next to a small wooden train station that was apparently also a bus stop, according to Robin they should have been here an hour ago, but she still waited, although not patiently.

This might have been a good thing, after all she would have more time to work on Beast Boy's hand, although it hadn't improved since she tried healing it last time. To make matters worse Beast Boy was acting strangely.

Strange would be an understatement, glancing behind her she saw the green dog that was laying on the porch of the cottage. The changeling hadn't cracked a single joke over the last two missions and it seemed that Raven was the only one who noticed the odd behavior.

It was actually disturbing that no one else made a comment about it, perhaps Raven just had a better eye for these kinds of things, but none the less she was intrigued. 

It started in Russia, he almost seemed lethargic when it came to combat, whether Robin noticed or not Raven didn't know, but Beast Boy almost seemed to be going through the motions instead of actually fighting.

Then in the Arctic, in our unexpected adventures with Dr. Light, Kole, and Gnarrk he barely shifted into any creatures. It wasn't unprecedented for him to fight in his normal form, but he didn't smile or jive at all. Simply robotic.

Now as Raven tapped her foot in anticipation of a meeting that should have happened sixty minutes ago, she turned to face the ever-perplexing changeling who's head raised off the porch to meet her gaze.

Sighing Raven started toward the porch and sat down next to the hound who transformed back into his main form.

If Raven didn't know better she would say he was a shade of green lighter, but if he was in any discomfort he never showed it. If that was the case it was remarkable, yet slightly ironic, he could hide discomfort, but he couldn't help but have it manifest in this fighting.

There was also the thought of his hand running through Raven's mind, and perhaps a small amount of guilt. She had mended all kinds of different injuries for the team, but why this one was different she didn't know. Perhaps him acquiring a long lasting injury was weighing on his mind.

"How much longer do you think they'll be?" Raven asked her accomplice.

Beast Boy shrugged "They'll get here when they do, no need to get antsy." He said as he stretched backwards and ultimately rested on his back looking upwards.

"What exactly did Robin tell you?" He asked.

Raven raised an eyebrow "Robin didn't brief you?"

Frowning Beast boy tilted his head in her direction "Nope, just kinda walked into my room and told me to be ready in an hour."

"Hmm, probably just didn't want you protesting."

Beast Boy looking back to the roof above them "Eh, I could do worse."

Raven raised an eyebrow and was just about to launch him forward with dark energy when he continued.

"Could have been stuck with Robin, I wouldn't be able to relax." He said still staring at the ceiling.

Raven was about to retort when the sound of an engine backfiring caused them both to shoot up, but within moments they both saw the large dust cloud coming towards them up the unpaved road.

Raven looked over at Beast Boy who had begun to lean on the pole next to him. Raven was sure he was in some sort of discomfort.

She walked out to greet the bus when it arrived without him and for a moment she waited to be greeted by someone, but the bus simply started back up, leaving another cloud of dust in its wake.

Coughing and waving her hand to clear the dust from in front of her face Raven tried to peer through to see their contact.

When the dust finally cleared and no one stood in front of her, Raven raised and eyebrow in confusion, only to have it crushed when a voice spoke up from beside her.

"Are you Waven?"

Turning Raven kept her face perfectly emotionless "You've got to be kidding me."

For a few moments, everyone was quiet until Raven looked over to Beast Boy, who was quite slowly picking himself up and walking over to the group.

"Did you know about this?" Raven asked, trying in vain to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Sighing Beast Boy lethargically walked up to the group, not making eye contact with the kids.

"All Robin told me was we were supposed to escort some heroes, that's it."

Rolling her eyes Raven whipped out her communicator "Well I don't babysit…" She said as he started to call Robin.

Beast Boy reached over and closed the lid of the communicator and beat Raven's predictable outburst.

"Come on, you know exactly what he's gonna say and besides this isn't so bad," he said gesturing to the landscape "cant get much more relaxing missions than this."

Closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, Raven's mantra could almost be heard as she muttered it to herself, but she eventually looked back up and gave the slightest of nods.

"Are you gonna help us?" The oldest one asked.

Beast Boy just smiled at the girl but seemed to turn away quicker than was necessary.

"I don't know, what do you say Raven?"

Rolling her eyes Raven simply asked the little blonde girl her name in perhaps the most monotone voice Beast boy had ever heard.

"Melvin," She answered.

"Alright, Melvin," Raven sighed as the sounds of a locomotive filled the air, "we'll take you all to the drop-off, but that's it."

Melvin, appearing confused by the tone of voice turned to the only other person there. When Beast Boy reluctantly met her eyes he shrugged for a moment before turning to the station where the visible trail of smoke could be seen in the distance signaling the impending arrival of the train.

Melvin instantly latched onto the demonesses hand, while the smallest reached out and grabbed her free one.

The only boy in the group looked back and forth at the two and upon realizing that there was no free hand, imminently ran straight to Beast Boy.

Beast Boy didn't even have time to react when the young boy latched onto his gloved hand. Beast Boy instantly froze, looking down the boy and then back to Raven.

This time it was Melvin that spoke up "Someone's got to hold his hand." she said with a smile.

Beast Boy said nothing, but Raven could tell that he wasn't exactly comfortable having something latched onto his hand like a leech. However, more surprising was his discomfort around these kids. Raven couldn't remember him ever being unfriendly with any other kids, but as the train arrived she didn't have time to dwell on it as they walked int the station.

Looking for their cabin number, Raven actually caught herself thinking that this might actually be a quiet mission for once.

 **Hello! Hello!**

 **I bring to you all another tasty chapter of this story and I think you're all gonna be real happy for the next few weeks (Assuming I actually write and upload). As you can see I've been thinking about this one for awhile.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **The Dimensional Reader: I'm back my dude, took me long enough but I'm back!**

 **mochafraptor: Pffft, a little dark magic never hurt anyone's soul... oh wait….**

 **Plutonimus: Thank you, my last two brain cells were used for writing this chapter.**

 **Beakers47: B.B., well, he's a special guy, yah know? As for the characters, I don't know I'm no Marv Wolfman, but I do my best.**

 **Xzxzxzxzx: Here you go, enjoy dude.**

 **Ah, the joy of another chapter at the beginning of the month, again, like the third time in a row. What happened to weekly updates? I don't know life I guess, I'm still trying by best guys, I really want to finish Season 5 this summer, and hopefully im falling into a spot of free time coming up so stay tuned.**

 **Until Next Time**


	59. Chapter 59: Hard Truths

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 59: Hard Truths

As they both searched up and down the train for the runaway toddler Raven's thoughts began to drift.

Ever since they had all boarded the train Beast Boy and her were chasing down one child or another. As luck would have it no one said a word as they passed them, each was too busy with their eyes glued to the book or paper in front of them.

As all four of them neared the end of the train she was looking forward to finding a nice seat where she would be able to rest for the rest of the journey.

There was only one problem, a green changeling who seemed much more nervous around these children then trudging through hell.

His tantrum ridden toddler was the one they were searching for and even with the other children holding her hand he seemed to take every step with measured caution as if a heavy footstep would break the precious china that was next to him.

Once they had found Timmy it was simply a question of finding a nice secluded place for them to sit. Near the mid-section, they found a vacant compartment for them to rest for the next two hours and everyone piled in.

Taking seats opposite from one another, the children shuffled next to either of the benches lining the compartment, Melvin and Teether next to Raven, and Timmy next to Beast Boy.

"Alright, Beast Boy can you keep an eye on them?"

Beast Boy gave a worried look as Timmy looked as if he were about to go into another temper tantrum.

"Alright, good." The Demoness said as she reclined back to shut her eyes.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Pain wasn't the problem. I could deal with pain, it was yours to ignore, it was within your control, but this was worse than any torture.

As Teether started to munch on Timmy's blanket I hurried to break up the inevitable tantrum that would be thrown. Not much was worse than Raven repeatedly being woken up.

Though the smile that crept onto my face was somehow hard to push back down. All of them were so young, so innocent… fragile.

How long did it take for me to see them again? It had to have been years after Paris.

All of them so young and full of energy, they were like the Titans in a way, naïve and full of confidence. With that all-consuming glow in their eyes that told you everything, you needed to know about them.

But now….

"Ah, Mr. Beast Boy," Melvin said as she tugged at my arm.

Coming back to reality I noticed that she was pointing at Timmy, whose face was crunched in determination.

Understanding immediately, I nodded.

"C'mon Timmy."

After finding the bathroom I leaned against the wall outside the door. He was plenty old enough to go by himself and I had a giant ape to watch out for.

When this was all over perhaps the kids could get a sense of normalcy, Raven had always checked in on them, they ended up becoming something akin to foster children for her.

If I remembered correctly she had even helped Melvin when she was looking into colleges.

" _Why shouldn't they have a bit of a normal life? Maybe they'll even like it!"_

"ALL DONE!"

Looking down the boy seemed rather pleased with himself, sighing I took his hand and began leading him back to the cabin.

"MONKEY MAN!"

Before I even knew what I was doing, I threw all caution to the wind and grabbed Timmy just before the side of the car exploded.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

"What's wrong with him?"

Knowledge barely looked over the book she was seemingly engrossed in, sighing she snapped the book closed with a rather pleasing whack and set in on the desk in front of her.

It was uncommon for me to enter Nevermore without the mirror, but if I tried hard enough and had enough time, I could manage it.

"C'mon you know I don't have that answer." She said as she plucked the glasses from her face.

Producing a handkerchief Knowledge proceeded to inspect the lenses thoroughly, rubbing away any smudges she deemed unfit to remain there.

"You came for something else."

"I came because Beast Boy's like a limping dog and I don't particularly wanna get killed around a bunch of screaming children," Raven said while burying her face in her hand.

"I can't tell you things you don't know yourself, this isn't how this works, we've discussed this how many times?" Knowledge pondered while holder her glasses up in another attempt to find anything.

"Oh yeah, every time you come here."

Breathing on the glasses she leaned back into her seat and continued to run the handkerchief over them.

"You're here because you're alone with a boy who rejected you."

Raven pulled her face up from her hands, now resorting to rubbing her temples instead, "No, this has nothing to do with that, it was a stupid outburst of emotion, just like he said it was…"

"Just because Brave does outlandish things or that Timid hides whenever there's a gust of wind doesn't mean that they aren't any less of you than Sloth or I am." Knowledge said while twirling the glasses in her hand.

"That was all you, and judging by how much you know about emotion, it's probably best that you acknowledge this before you come to regret it."

Running a hand through her hair Raven began to pace back and forth in front of Knowledge's desk, the soft thump of her feet resounded like clockwork throughout the room.

"It was late, on top of that everyone had just finished defeating Trigon, I hadn't slept, and I wasn't repressing any emotions, of course, I would…"

"Try to kiss Beast Boy?" Knowledge interjected.

"YES! Is that what you want me to say, bring in Happy because I admit it!" Raven yelled while slamming her hands down onto Knowledge's desk.

"Well admitting it is the first step."

"I don't see why we're still on this topic, I'm for something completely different," Raven said while lowering her head and sighing.

"And yet that still involves Beast Boy, in fact, it involves his well-being." Knowledge remarked, a bit of smugness residing in her voice.

"The fact that you care enough to notice when no one else on the team has is proof enough, but deep down the real question isn't why he rejected you."

Pushing off from the desk Raven shook her head "So what, you're filling in for Love now?" Raven asked.

"I'm boiling this down to the real reason you're here," Knowledge said, while she breathed on the other lense.

.

.

.

"You _need_ something to be wrong with him, so you don't have to ask if there is anything wrong with you."

.

.

.

For a few moments both of them stared at each other, the only sound came from what little was produced as Knowledge finished cleaning her glasses.

Placing them back onto her head she blinked rapidly before a small grin appeared on her lips.

Tilter her head to one side her eyes widened "You need to wake up, NOW!"

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Carrying three kids through train cars was a piece of cake, out of the ordinary for me, but still easy.

Now, doing it while being chased by a hyperintelligent ape, that sounded more like my kind of job.

Mayhem followed us as we ran car to car, each one getting destroyed by the oversized monkey that desperately wanted the kids.

Passing even our own cabin I saw Raven on the inside for a brief moment, hoping that the noise was going to be able to wake her up if she wasn't already.

I slid into the final cargo carriage just as a table slammed into the wall next to me, setting down the children I looked over them to make sure none of them were injured.

"Go to the back, and stay there." Looking over to Melvin I gave her a reassuring smile "Could I get a little help from Bobby?"

Melvin's face lit up at the request and she went to the back of the car with the others.

Cracking a few joints, I watched as the metal around the door war ripped way, making room for the ape to waltz in.

"This is all rather unnecessary if you just hand them over you could go about your business." He said taking a fighting stance.

"Not gonna happen," I said while shifting into the form of an ape.

Mallah smiled "Just as I expected."

Thunderous shockwaves rattled the car as the both of us engaged in cramped combat. The cargo in the car and the initial small size made it difficult to fight in effectively.

Just as I was about to throw an uppercut to his chin a chair slammed into the back of my opponent.

"MALLAH!" A certain cloaked sorceress yelled from the next car.

Rubbing his head, he looked back and forth to the two of us.

"I did not expect the Titans to send two for such a menial task."

"Well get used to it," I said as I charged at him.

Roaring, he ran straight at Raven instead, who gathered dark energy to defend herself.

Instead of attacking he circumvented Raven and dodged her attacks, now facing the two of us I could guess he felt much more secure.

Taking the initiative, I tore past Raven, but I never saw the dark energy collecting on the things around us.

I didn't see the projectiles until it was too late, and when I looked for them it was all the time Mallah needed to grab me and use me as a shield against them.

As I was thrown at Raven, who I knew was capable to catch such a large creature, I was furious, perhaps at Raven, but more at myself for not noticing, that was a rookie's mistake, not mine.

It wasn't until I landed and felt us losing speed did I realize that we had been cut loose. Looking up I saw Mallah smiling at us as he accelerated away on the main train.

Shifting back, I picked myself up and rubbed some of the areas when particularly nasty items had hit.

Looking back to Melvin I raised an eyebrow.

"I couldn't get any of Bobby's help back there?"

Melvin frowned and looked up at her invisible friend "Bobby didn't want to disturb the mean lady."

I could feel the edge of my lip curl slightly, but I knew this was going to be the beginning of a decent trek, after all, Teether was afraid of flying.

 ***Me looking at my calendar**

" **Hmmm, maybe I should post a chapter should have done that last week…"**

" **When was the last time I posted again?"**

 ***Flips through calendar to see Jun 2**

 ***Spits out drink**

 **Yeah…. A bit too long, so here I am, I guess I just took summer off, even though I said I would post, but I can proudly say that I complete Season 5!**

 **So don't you guys worry, hopefully, we'll have a chapter revised and ready to ship out every week (or every other week, I kinda got school happening). So buckle your seatbelts, we're going on a wild ride here.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Beakers47- Ah, yes, well Raven would be the most perceptive of the bunch, no?**

 **mochafraptor- Yep, I really don't see how only one person was supposed to do this mission efficiently.**

 **4everficitonal- You gonna go through every chapter man? Ha, be my guest that's a lot of reviews to leave.**

 **Alright it's getting late and I need to sleep, if there are some mistakes well I'll buff them out later. Leave a review, let me know you guys are still out there.**

 **Until Next Time**


	60. Chapter 60: Wisdom of Demons

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 60: Wisdom of Demons

One thing I had learned over the years was that children loved animals.

You could shift into just about any creature on earth and as long as you didn't snarl, or show your teeth to them, they would be ten times happier than before.

I think Raven was appreciating that fact as we hiked through the woods, she took the lead with a rather large, green grizzly and three children on its' back following her.

Teether's rather messy objection to flying had been discovered by Raven rather early on, and after cleaning out her shoes we began our trek over the mountains.

The strength of the grizzly kept me from being fatigued, even with the kids, but I couldn't produce a shelter out of thin air so I was hoping Raven would take the same path as last time and lead us to the cabin she had described all those years ago.

It felt like hours before it actually started to get dark, the forest molding into a continuous stream of indistinguishable trees, it was only when you turned around did you see the amazing view down upon the valley below.

Just as the sun dipped below the mountain we made it, Raven was relieved, not only was she tired, but hiking in those shoes was simply a bad idea, I didn't even want to know how bad her feet hurt.

It's was smaller than she described, or at least what I remembered about the story, perhaps it was because there was a fourth person here, but the kids seemed at least content.

Raven did her best to tend to them while starting a fire, as they wanted to spend time with her after riding on my back for hours, I on the other hand desperately wanted to find something to eat.

Scrounging through the pantry I drummed up a few canned goods, some dishes, and utensils. It was going to be cold but that didn't matter to me.

Looking over at Raven she seemed to be doing her best to not explode on the children, but I reminded myself she had been walking to hours.

A small smile found its way onto my face when I turned back to face the dishes I made. Perhaps not so different from old times.

Placing four dishes on the table the kids ran over with Raven to find their improvised meals and I could almost hear their protests before they began.

Raven, when she made it to the table looked exhausted but began to eat without complaint.

"I'm gonna have a look around," I said, taking my dish with me.

She merely nodded and waved me away, perhaps thinking she couldn't deal with me and the kids at the same time.

Stepping out onto the porch the outer screen door closed with a reassuring WHACK from its' underused spring.

I adjusted my eyes to that of a nocturnal predator's, it was still difficult, but the younger body would adjust eventually, walking around the cabin, I looked to see if there was anything that would be useful.

Some more firewood, an outhouse, and a toolshed were all that I could find, it seemed the owners did a good job at packing up when they didn't use the place.

It almost felt familiar, me scrounging around for materials, how many cabins had I gone through, and how good did I get at salvaging every bit of useful scrap?

As that thought ran through my mind I saw it, a flash of light towards the woods, it was too quick to be an animal, and there was no undergrowth that was touched, meaning it took care as it moved.

Cautiously finishing my food, it set down the plate and silverware, extending claws out from my hands I walked slowly towards the wood, with any luck it would just be an animal.

The brush was heavy, but I could hear movement, but no bushes rattling, I couldn't smell anything, but every sensor on my body was screaming at me that something was here.

" _A little nostalgic, are we?"_

In an instant I felt it, cold and unnaturally long fingers resting on my shoulders and then nothing, in an instant, it was gone.

In front of me, out of the darkness, a great big white smile appeared, floating in the dark.

" _My my Gar, dining like a king? I remember when we were eating rats in the sewers."_ Said the smile, licking its' lips

And then he walked out into my vision, the figure, this time thin and sickly, yet still retaining his great big smile, he stared back at me with large, sunken eyes.

"You're not really here."

" _Oh, but I am Gar,"_ He said walking right up to me, I could feel the heat from his breath, yet I knew it wasn't real, it couldn't be,

Sticking one of his pointer fingers out, its' long talon touched my chest _"I'm always here after all."_

"Order would have kept you in check even if you broke out of the restraints, they were made specifically…"

But he just waved his hand quieting me " _Yes, yes, beautiful as they were, someone decided to… shake things up a bit in there."_ He said tapping on my forehead, " _You can't just be going around messing with your soul and expect nothing to happen, our little friend in London told you that much_."

Breaking away he stretched his figure out, the popping of joints was plainly heard even from where I was standing. "Order's still good enough…"

" _BAAAH! Order? HAA_!" His smile disappeared for a moment " _That one has a stick so far up his ass I could use him as a puppet, he's not even yours… on the other hand,"_ He said, outstretching his arms and motion into himself " _I'm the purest thing you ever made."_

" _Do you remember_?" He asked pointing at me " _You do remember, don't you_?"

I gritted my teeth "I do."

He frowned, actually it was possible it was more disturbing than the smile " _I really don't think you do… that's kinda disheartening, after all… I've never wronged you… besides_ ,"

"Does that exclude the last fight?"I said, interrupting.

He waved his hand " _A necessary evil,"_

" _You needed me, you wanted me because you didn't need logic or reason, you didn't need a negotiator or a bookworm, otherwise you would have been able to make Order… no, you needed PURE, RAW, POWER_!" He yelled.

"Y _ou needed will, you needed fury, you needed a monster, you need_ ME _, and at least I can admit that much, I've never claimed to be anything else!_ " He said calming down a bit.

" _Order's no match for me, but you knew it all along_ ," he said patting me on the shoulder, " _maybe if you had been the one to make him, but well, nothings gonna change that now_."

"He's not gone, is he?" I asked, concerned.

He shrugged " _Nah, he's got me locked down in that room with him I'm a little sentimental after all, but you should see the rest of that place, it's looking rough."_

" _Again, not my doing,"_ he quickly added, throwing his hands up in a mockery of innocence.

" _Though I'm a little hurt, you had so much fun with your playmate fixing it up, of course, this could have been avoided."_ He said, shrugging.

He began to circle around me, theway a predator would circle its' prey and I did nothing because I could do nothing.

" _It's been so fun watching you play House, convincing yourself you're one of them again, but we know different… you're like me."_

I remained silent, when dealing with him, it was truly the best thing to just wait him out.

" _You may want to forget, but deep down you loved it, you loved the freedom of not holding back, it was the law of the jungle, no rules, no judgment, it was so… pure."_

At the same time, it was truly rare for me to hold my tongue with him.

"That's not true." I snapped.

" _We're a product of our time, and I think you forgot that I think you forgot we're an animal, we're the ultimate predator and you want to cage us with all these rules and sneaking around, but we're not made for that."_

It was then that he was right behind me, his mouth near my ear.

" _I don't blame you, really a little indulgence goes a long way… but you've decided you're gonna hang around Neverland forever, time to get going Lost Boy…"_

Switching to my other ear he pressed down on my shoulders _, "We both want the same thing, just let me go, I'll get to Paris and in a day and I'll end it, after all, what's the use of that Doppelganger you're cooking up?"_

"I _will_ handle this _my_ way..."

Squeezing my shoulders, he didn't let me continue _"Oh I'm sure you will, judging by that hand of yours, you're doing just fine,"_ he said, I looked down at my hand to only notice now how bad it was shaking

" _Just remember, all you have to do is ask, just like before._ "

*CRACK*

The pressure was gone, he was gone, but the rage was still there, and a sorceress was standing in the distance.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Kids were so strange.

Within the space of a half an hour, they went from voicing how hungry they were, complaining about what was given to them, scarfing down that they deemed worthy, and then finally growing exhausted and falling asleep.

In the small cabin there's was only one bed, so after finding a spare set of sheets I did my best to tuck them all in. Considering this was a first for me and I was more than lucky to not have to read them a bedtime story I thought I had done a reasonably good job.

However, I was stuck with a couch that even the sight of it made my skin itch. Beast Boy was more than able to do with the floor, after all, he could turn into a dog, it wouldn't be the first time he had rough sleeping conditions.

Speaking of the changeling he still wasn't back, looking over the kids one last time I decided it was best to search for him, at least for a few minutes, it wasn't a good idea to leave such young kids along for very long after all.

Shutting the door quietly I started around the cabin looking if he had simply been out back, I circled the cabin, not finding anything, at least until I found his plate in the yard a few paces from the back of the structure.

Heading off in that direction it was rather dark, I made sure I could still see the light coming from the cabin and even if I did get lost I could always fly above the tree line and find my way back.

It was only a few yards into the woods that I heard voices, or more specifically one voice, Beast Boy's.

"Order… gone… here… do… handle…" It was faint, like a someone keeping their voice down, but not whispering.

With my eyes more adjusted I could finally see his figure, in a tiny clearing that was more of a patch where no bushes had grown.

Slowly I made my way towards him, doing my best not to make any noise in the brush, however, I completely forgot about my footing.

*CRACK*

And here I was caught by the changing.

"Raven?" He asked, his eyes shining in the darkness.

"Yeah, you're coming inside right?" I asked, trying to put off that I had been ease dropping.

He nodded, seemingly forgetting it was dark out, but my eyes could just make it out.

Walking past back we both made it onto the cabin's lawn, then I couldn't help myself.

"What were you doing in the woods?"

For once I just wanted him to be honest, anything that wasn't either a deflection or short answer.

"Just looking around, I thought I saw something." He said, not making eye contact, that was it.

I stopped, it took him a few steps to realize I was no longer alongside him, and when he turned I had my head in my hand.

"Can you please be honest with me?" I practically growled out, I didn't need to be lied to anymore.

"What are you going on about Rae?" He asked, and that was the last straw.

"JUST WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" I exploded, and Beast Boy seemed like he was ready to be physically assaulted by the way he was tensing up.

"Can we be honest with each other for 5 minutes? You've been acting slower like you've been hurting over the last few missions," I said pointing at him "you even got in the way of my attack against Mallah, now I catch you talking to something in the forest and you just called me Rae,"

"I just want to know what's going on!"

Beast Boy just threw his hands out, with the one shaking slightly "What do you want from me, Raven? Do you want me to explain everything I do now?"

I rolled her eyes "NO! I just want to know what the HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

"What do you want me to say, Rae? You want me to crack open every little moment of my life that was wrong, do you really want me to really break it down for you?"

I didn't say anything, I really didn't know what to say.

"Do you think I want to be here?" he asked, his voice beginning to become even more agitated.

"There's a monster out there," He said pointing off into the distance "and he's tried to kill me who knows how many times and now he wants to hurt my friends, the only thing I have _here_ ," He said, pointing towards the ground.

"I don't want to take these kids anywhere, I don't want to sit at the Tower until Robin calls us out again, I want to go off and take The Brain out, but I don't have that luxury,"

"Now you're sounding like Robin going after Slade," I said, more as a jab.

It must have hit a nerve…

"GOOD! I hope I'm sounding like Robin because he actually does things for the team, what do you do Raven!? You sulk around in your room like every day is a curse, but guess what? Things can get a whole lot worse!"

"You ran from Trigon, you ran from your mistakes, you played things close to the chest to, so don't you judge me when I pulled your ass out of hell and now I want to fix my own mistakes!"

.

.

.

"Is that what you really think about me?" I asked, a little shell-shocked by his outburst. "You think I don't do anything for this team!"

Before I knew what I was doing I threw my hand out, a cascade of dark energy barreling toward the figure in the dark.

Losing track of him I fell back on my reflexes and used my abilities as an empath to try and find him. I wasn't very hopeful, after all the last time it was like reading a brick wall but this time… I wasn't prepared for what I felt.

Rage… fear… lose… hatred, and yet nothing was directed outward at anyone, not even me, and then, like the eye of a storm, on its own little mountain… hope.

I was so entranced by what I was feeling, that I didn't even see him in my peripheral vision, I only knew he was there when he tackled me to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled at me, and in an instant… nothing, sealed off again.

I just looked at him, and then realized where we were. He had me pinned to the ground, both his hands doing there best to keep me from lashing out… and he was so close, his quickened breathing blowing on me like a sudden breeze.

And I couldn't help myself, because I saw him differently this time, his face didn't make me think of a jester or a clown, I felt something in his attitude that I had never seen before as he tried his best to calm me and I just couldn't keep myself from asking.

"Who broke you?" I almost whispered.

His breathing stopped, it was as if he understood exactly what I was saying, that he realized he had lost his cool for just a few moments and had let himself go. I could feel the pressure on my wrists begin to weaken and eventually he pushed himself upright.

I still couldn't even will myself to get upright, all that I had felt, all that I had been given a fleeting moment to peer into, it was still there, in my mind's eye, and I was doing my best to process it.

I heard a screen door slam and looked over to see Melvin rubbing her eye and asking what was going on outside.

I watched as Beast Boy lied that the two of us were just sparring while picking her up and taking her back inside.

And I stayed there just for a few moments longer before slowly making my way back to the cabin in a sort of trance. I wanted to confront him, to fight him, to do anything, but what could I realistically do with the kids here?

When I got inside Melvin and the rest were tucked neatly back in and a green Great Dane was laying in front of the fire.

For the longest time I just stared at him, tried to read it again, to see even a glimpse of that storm again, but it was futile.

Instead, I laid down on the couch while watching the shadows from the fire lick up against the walls and the figure on the floor.

It felt like forever, but my eyes refused to close because my idea of Beast Boy had been shattered and for the first time I was convinced I saw who he really was, but the real problem was I couldn't understand any of it.

 **Wow get a load of this guy, putting out a chapter 2 weeks in a row.**

 **I really hated the original last third of this chapter the first time I wrote it and spent the last few days writing it again, but hope you guys enjoyed, perhaps another one next week?**

 **Oh yeah... 60! Wow, this kinda got out of hand...**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **EnigmaProtocol- Welcome, thank you, we look forward to a new face around here.**

 **The Dimensional Reader- Tsssk, you disappoint me, but you loyalty will always win me over, as for you seeing this to the end, well, I'm gonna hold you to that. (That doesn't sound like a warning does it, oh yeah it totally does, remember I hold these characters hostage!)**

 **Beakers47- I don't usually explain stuff down here, (I think you guys should suffer as much as possible) but yes I wanted BB to interact with the kids, but he had to know them in the future…. so keep that in mind when reading.**

 **Alrighty I'm do what you will with this chapter, curse me, raise your fist to the sky in protest, or just read it like a normal person and speculate, but…**

 **Until Next Time**


	61. Chapter 61: Balance

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 61: Balance

" _Why are we still here?"_

"… _and no, I'm not asking that as weak philosophical question… though being tens of thousands of years old, I might be."_

 _In all honesty, I've been seated next to stranger things than severed heads._

 _A rather ragged and unshaven Vandal Savage was nestled on a moldy deck chair with me seated in one next to him. The amount of dirt and grime that had accumulated on his face was actually astounding, but since every time you bathed him he had a tendency to drown, it was a compromise that was needed to be made._

 _Currently, we were on the deck of an abandoned cabin, its wooden structure slowly deteriorating to both vegetation and the elements._

 _As I rocked on the only stable rocking chair left I could hear the crunch of the glass from the shattered windows under my feet as I shifted my weight on them._

 _As a rather powerful gust of wind swept through the area the cabin behind us creaked and moaned while I tried to pull my jacket tighter around myself, it was late fall, and the holes peppering my outerwear were obviously making it difficult to stay warm._

 _In front of us, the garden that had once been pristine and trimmed to perfection by a caring hand was now either grey, with its vegetation dead or its once beautiful flowers being strangled by weeds._

 _But the view hadn't changed._

 _That same view of Jump City in the distance always somehow made things a little better, but it wasn't Jump City anymore._

 _The time when people bustled about in its downtown buildings or shopped in its' sprawling malls was gone, the time when superpowered teens flew over its' skyline, pretending they made a difference for the world was all but a distant memory._

 _Now all that remained were the windswept towers that birds nested in and barren streets that were home to the beasts of the wilds._

 _It was a city that no longer needed saving because there was nothing left to save._

" _I'm going to be heading north."_

" _O CANADA! Our home and…." The head began to sing._

" _I'm serious, and I'll be going alone."_

 _At that, the head could only turn his eyes to look at me._

" _Really? Just gonna leave old Vandal at the nursing… cabin and head off?" he barked while eyeing his surroundings with newfound suspicion._

" _I was going to ask where you wanted to stay…"_

 _He merely looked back on the city in the distance._

" _I'm still wondering why you chose this place…"_

" _I would prefer somewhere at the border, I'll come back to pick you up after I'm done."_

" _By the way, you haven't scavenged it for food or materials yet I'd bet you know it's empty…."_

" _If you could…"_

" _Or you have some sentimental value attached, meaning you don't want to tear it apart."_

 _I pinched the brim of my nose "This is the last place on the list Louis gave me, and since you're out of ideas…."_

" _You think this is it?"_

 _I sighed "I don't know, every time we seem close… well, I don't get all that excited anymore."_

 _Turning to him I rotated the head to look at me, it was only common courtesy "Got any last amazing ideas?"_

 _He frowned "The truth? I was out of the picture before Luthor, so that tells you how much The Brain trusted me."_

 _I nodded, how many times had I heard that story, all the moaning and complaining, it was pathetic, but then again, he was a severed head._

 _He shares part of the blame, but even he didn't want this for the world, it wasn't his style unless you counted that time he wanted to destroy half the world, then it was._

" _What would you do if you found him anyway?"_

 _I raised an eyebrow at his question, he merely looked me straight in the eye._

" _If you did find him, it won't bring everyone back, I don't even want to know what kind of back up protocol he has on those killing machines if you do get to him."_

" _It doesn't matter."_

" _Oh,_ it doesn't matter _?" He said in a mocking voice "What if he has them go off and kill everything they can find? Would it matter then?"_

 _I slowly shook my head with a sad small smile. "What's another million among billions?"_

" _So, the outcome doesn't matter?"_

" _As long as he's dead… that's about all the wish fulfillment I'll get."_

 _He sighed "I remember when superheroes had a code against killing you know."_

 _I chucked "It's been a long time since the age of heroes Vandal."_

" _Maybe… it was always fun though, all the scheming, the fights, it was a fun cycle you know? I was actually getting bored, the 20_ _th_ _century was just a product of me trying to spice up the world, but then…"_

 _His eyes drifted off into the grey sky as if he was looking for something._

" _There was this… man… flying in the sky… and I knew I wasn't alone anymore… "_

 _For a few minutes, we just sat and quietly admired the static spectacle before us until I stood and stretched._

 _Clipping him to my belt I began the long and tedious journey for the border._

" _I'm guessing summer getaway?"_

" _Hmmm?"_

" _The cabin…"_

 _I smiled sadly, "Something like that."_

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

In all honesty, I've had more awkward breakfasts.

However, none of them had three small children with very different ideas on what breakfast should be. They did agree however that their food should be warm.

Raven did her best to keep them from running around in protest while I did my best to heat up what little scraps we had and I was pretty sure we were doing so well because we didn't want to be near each other.

Though, she could just be warming up to the kids.

And as we gathered supplies for the next part of our journey I found myself doing my best to keep away from her still.

As we packed little supplies for the climb to the summit and subsequent crossing I couldn't help but notice that it wasn't so much she was tolerating the children so much as actually enjoying being with them.

Perhaps the biggest tell was the soft smile on her face, which as anyone could tell you was about as elusive as a Tamaranean backing out of a fight.

As we headed off I was already thinking about the summit and turning to a polar bear, though it would be hard to tell because even that was green, perhaps a lighter shade, but I didn't care enough to think about it again.

Heading up the mountain was a breeze, at least for me, Raven had to wade through knee-high snow with flimsy shoes and nothing covering her legs. I could never get over that fact, it was honestly a horrible costume decision.

Though I would have to argue not as bad an idea as the cable car that was in front of us now. I wanted to know whose government decided to build this and for what purpose.

I wasn't complaining, it was oddly convenient for us, but at the same time, I couldn't find a single powerline connecting to it, which only made me more curious. Though the fact that it was rather warm inside dissuaded further questioning.

"We can take this to the other side." Raven said while looking at a chart of its' route on the wall.

Loading onto the car was rather easy and since no one else was there we weren't embarrassed about Teether throwing up when he realized how high we were going to be.

Bobby still freaked Raven out when the car rocked violently from his weight. Apparently, she hadn't noticed the Yeti-size tracks in the snow behind us as we scaled the mountain, I merely looked as Melvin who sheepishly smiled at me in response.

Raven had never been very clear what had happened in her report and I what happened next was probably the reason why.

"Monkey Man!"

By some incredible leap of logic from a hyper-intelligent ape, Mallah had decided to ride a car back instead of waiting for us to reach the other side.

I felt the rocking of the car before I saw the ape himself and it wasn't until he decided to tear through the roof that I decided uppercutting an ape would be a great idea.

At first, it turned out to be a great idea, I landed on the roof of the car while Mallah went flying backward. I, however, didn't account for a four hundred pound gorilla rocking the car violently.

And apparently neither did he.

Struggling to regain balance, I watched as the wires the car was balanced on swayed uncontrollably.

Struggling to get up the giant ape paid little attention to the fact that the car was heavily weighted towards his side and I found myself sliding towards him.

Changing into an ape, I did my best to counter-act the weight, but I couldn't follow up, giving him all the time in the world to recover.

I would just have to fight him around the main beam connecting the car to the wire itself.

"You kids today, far too young to be having children of your own." Mallah taunted, which in all honesty was rather ironic coming from his own species.

Finding his footing he roared and charged, ducking to dodge his first blow, it hit the connecting beam and Mallah roared with rage.

We continued to trade blows, dancing around the central column, and I continued to dodge, weave and overall sidestep all his blows so that they hit the support itself.

I expected Mallah to tire out quickly, as he was holding onto the cable itself to stay upright, I, however, didn't expect have the beam fail and the car to fall out from under my feet.

Instinctually I turned to a hawk and brought myself up to the wire. Back in human form, I balanced and watched Mallah struggle to pull himself up as well.

Chuckling his labored breath actually was a little humorous to me, "Someone's been eating too many bananas."

He didn't seem to notice my jab as he was focused on something else.

"I do hope your witch can keep them from going over a cliff…"

Turning I realized what he was talking about.

The car had landed fine, at least from what I could see, but it was now traveling down the slope uncontrollably towards a rather ominous cliff.

Raven was probably too busy full keeping the children from bouncing around the cabin and hurting themselves to notice, so before I even realized it I was in freefall.

I dove, faster and faster, I had to get there, I had to.

That's when my vision changed.

The blinding white slopes were gone, and the dramatically colored cable car was no longer there. _Instead, the greens of an African jungle replaced them._

 _Looking down the small vessel was being dragged faster and faster by the brown flood water towards its' fate._

Must get bigger.

 _The boat was becoming smaller, its outline being distorted from the mists of the waterfall in front of it, the smoke from the underpowered engine doing its best to fight nature._

If I was bigger.

 _The two figures just standing there watching me fly away._

Impact.

The amount of snow being kicked up from the force my wings were producing was tantamount to a small blizzard.

Giant talons dug into the aluminum shell of the car as I tried to get it to stop.

I gotta…

*SMACK*

With that, I let go in shock and in my confusion turned back into a human.

The first thing I saw as the dust settled was a giant black hand, made out of dark energy, and as visibility improved, the entire car… stopped right before the ledge.

"What… was that?"

Resting in the cold snow could only be described as amazing at that moment, I could feel each tendon in my body screaming in pain, it was just like the first time.

"Beast Boy?"

I let out a small laugh, just enough for my chest to explode in pain, but I couldn't help myself.

"I got big…"

I forced myself up out of the snow, keeping just enough snow sticking to me to stem some of the pain.

Staggering towards the group, the children looked at me worryingly but kept around Raven trying to stay warm.

"Thunderbird…."

Raven imminently raised an eyebrow "But that's…."

"It's not something I turn into every day…" I said, stopping and catching my breath "I'm gonna need a few moments."

Flopping down into the snow again, I only got another five minutes, until we had to head back out again.

 **A day late, but hey even I got projects to complete.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **EnigmaProtocol- Thanks!**

 **Xodarap- Sorry about that… and who said anything about pairings?**

 **Beakers47: Thanks, just hold in there, we're getting…. somewhere.**

 **Well on that bombshell see you all next week, in the… dramatic ending? Anyways, I couldn't help but poke some fun at the episode, the original just felt like it was jumping from setpiece to setpiece, but anyways that's enough of my rambling.**

 **Until Next Time**


	62. Chapter 62: Home

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 62: Home

By the time it was dark we had found our way to the drop-off.

Whoever decided a monastery was a good place for these kids probably had either the best or worst idea ever. I just wanted to ask Robin what kind of contacts he had that could get him to hide kid here.

Morphing back into a human I held Melvin's hand as we approached the giant walls, I didn't think Monks would appreciate a giant bear rolling up to the door.

"Bobby likes this place." She said matter-of-factly, looking up at me

I smiled down at her while almost feeling Raven's willpower forcing her not to turn around and yell at the girl for having an imaginary friend.

"Bobby has good instincts."

Stopping outside the door, Raven rang a bell and as we waited for the door we said our goodbyes.

Kneeling down Timmy came running over, having a tantrum about us leaving. Raven did her best to calm him down while I did my best to keep Teether from eating any more of her cape.

Then Melvin wanted a hug.

Throwing her arms out she launched herself onto my chest

"Be good, learn from these people," I said.

Pulling back, she smiled "Of course."

" _Of course, you would!"_

" _Kill him, Bobby!"_

" _ARGH!"_

I just froze there, paralyzed as she walked away to Raven. It took a few moments for me to push that certain memory down, it wasn't one that I needed right now.

By this time a monk has appeared at the door, his smile welcoming the children in. Raven insisted on informing the poor gentleman in the quirks of the children and gave him a quick guide on do's and don'ts.

Nodding the children waltzed inside, where hopefully they would be safe for the next couple of weeks.

After thanking him once again, we went on our way, with the door closing soundly behind us.

"Wanna make camp?" I asked, trying to spur some sort of conversation after we walked for about ten minutes.

Walking to the top of a small hill I thought it might be nice, a little break from all this.

"No," Raven snapped.

"Then why are we trying to get back to the team tonight?"

"We're not, I just wanted to get out of earshot."

"I want to know, about earlier…" She stopped, taking another few steps I started down the side of this hill before I turned to look, and all of a sudden it felt all too familiar.

"I saw it, I saw you… not what you show us…"

.

.

.

"You want to know, don't you?"

.

.

.

"Yes."

.

.

.

"Fine."

With that I lowered myself onto the ground, sprawling down onto the grass with my hands behind my head.

I heard the grass rustle as he walked up to me obviously confused by the behavior.

"What are you…"

"Just sit down."

After a few moments of hesitation, she did just that, but instead of reclining back, she just sat there looking at me.

"If you don't lay down, you'll miss this great view."

Begrudgingly she did as I said, looking over, her impatience was getting the better of her "What are we doing?"

"Shhhhh, just look."

I said pointing upwards.

The clear night sky was all that sprawled out before us, untouched by the light pollution of each city each star shined down with utmost clarity.

"The sky was even clearer in Africa if you can believe that… "I started "each night I would climb to the top of the canopy and just stare,"

"I remember I was able to point out stars and constellations, but… I don't remember much anymore… after all, it was more than a lifetime ago."

"I told you about my parents, but I didn't tell you the story."

"You told me they were researchers in Africa…" She said.

"and they weren't exactly the… most loving, but when I got infected with Sakutia,"

Pushing herself up she looked at me with wide eyes "Wait… you survived Sakutia?"

"I don't know if it was the endless hours without sleep or they just were desperate, but they came up with the radical idea to inject their kid with an untested serum they cooked up in the middle of the jungle."

"But that's… amazing! You survived!"

I turned over to her narrowing my eyes "I survived, but… it wasn't pleasant, and the first time I transformed… well, let's just say I became my parent's pet project first and they son second."

"Garfield, what does it feel like, Garfield, can you turn into this… Garfield, why can't you make bigger animals, it wasn't how a kid should grow up."

"But that's not it, is it?" She said as she was drawn into the story.

I smiled sadly "I could deal with that, I didn't like it, I hated them even, but I thought eventually the novelty would wear off, but it didn't, they kept going… it was almost an obsession between learning more and trying to make me human again."

"You are human."

"Tell that to my DNA," I said, smiling slightly.

"It's not a matter of me believing it, facts are facts, you're half demon, half human, I'm…. well some freak of human science and nature, but those are the breaks."

"You're not a freak"

"Oh, I was using that as a scientific term, after all, I'm not really anything."

For a few moments, neither of us said anything, I took the chance to try and remember the name of a certain constellation.

"Then we had to leave, head back to civilization… What they had in smarts, they lacked in practical knowledge, so looking back taking the wrong split in the river wasn't exactly a surprise."

"And the water was so fast… "I said quietly, I was remembering it

" _Gar, just go…" I looked at her face, it was so large when I was just a small bird cupped in her hands._

"I left, flew off because I couldn't morph big enough to carry them,"

"but that wasn't the worst part, the worst part was I knew part of me didn't want to, that little voice in the back of my head smiled when the boat disappeared over the edge."

I just turned over to her, she just stared at me, just a little confused.

"I couldn't save my first family, my second family left me, now… I don't know if I can save my new family."

.

.

.

"You're being an idiot."

"Hun?" I just raised an eyebrow.

"We're not a bunch of civilians, we've been through _the literal end of the world,_ so stop worrying, we've been through much worse than a few muscles on a trashcan."

I just looked at her, completely dumbfounded, and then again, she didn't understand, and I was going to make sure she never would.

I wasn't about to mention the fact that just about everyone we knew would die if I failed, but I wasn't about to tell her that.

"You need to let go… because I saw what it's doing to you."

I laughed softly, turning my gaze back up to the "it also pushed me to save you from going over that cliff, those types of creatures aren't exactly easy to use you know."

She frowned "If you're going to push yourself that hard you're not only going to damage your mind, but your body to, you didn't see it like I did when you collapsed in the snow."

"Imagine if that was against the Brotherhood, how would that go in a real fight?"

I scoffed "There's a difference between saving you and fighting an evil organization."

.

.

.

"You once told me we can use fear to push past limits, but that's not what you're doing, you've intertwined it with the hatred, you're only hurting yourself."

I looked over at her, she was just shaking her head "Why don't you want me to help you?"

I didn't say anything, I just stood up and craned my neck back up to the sky.

"Look up again."

She didn't even bother to argue and just did as I said.

"Sometimes a star's light takes millions of years to reach earth, we might never realize that we're truly just looking at something that's no longer there…"

I rolled back over to look at her and she did the same.

"That has nothing to do with me helping you." She said, giving me a death glare.

Getting up I sighed, "We can't change the fact that there's no star left, but doesn't mean we can appreciate it."

.

.

.

"You're not making any sense Beast Boy, why won't you let me help you when you did everything you could to help me?"

I frowned as I gazed at the stars "I did it because the world would end if I didn't!" I replied rather forcibly, it was better this way, she shouldn't have to worry about me. Nobody, especially her, deserved that.

I didn't deserve that.

"Really?"

"Is that the only reason?"

I didn't say anything, I just stood up and brought my gaze back to earth.

"Sometimes you just need to accept that you can't fix everything Raven, that applies to people."

Pushing herself up she stuck her finger right into my chest "You're insufferable you know? You act like you're above everyone's help, but you're just like the rest of us!"

Looking down at the finger pressed up against my torso I just swatted it aside.

 _That's where you're wrong Raven…_

"Let's go home."

I started walking, leaving her standing here, just boring holes into my back with her eyes.

"We're not finished yet!"

I just kept walking, this was where I wanted it to end, it was better for her to be pissed at me and never try to help me again, then let her learn what happened.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

"I need to know how bad you messed me up."

Malchior just turned to me slowly "Good to see you too."

Looking down at the body residing on the floor I frowned.

It was an exact replica of me, every nick I had acquired over my time as a hero, every tarnish, it was perfect.

"I've been fatigued, moving slower, I ran into one of Raven's attacks on the last mission, and there's been some… other adverse effects."

Turning to he rained an eyebrow "Really? Like what?"

Walking over to the workbench I picked up a tool and started fiddling with it.

"It doesn't matter, I just want to know how badly…"

"It's quite extensive," Malchior said quickly.

"But then again no one's body was ever designed to receive inputs from two bodies..."

Pinching the bridge of the nose, I turned to lean against the table.

"I need to know."

"Fine," He signed picking up the book of Merlin where we had last left it "The spell required a fraction of your soul, I am slightly to blame I wasn't the most gentle when I was doing that, but the fatigue is typical for a little while, at least according to the book, though there is one side effect."

"Which is?"

"It's still a piece of you in there, and from the accounts that are written down here, it seems you might feel the same pain it will."

"So, you're saying if he dies…"

Malchior scoffed "Well it mentions no one actually went around using this in the real world, but I would bet you would want to delete it before it does so, there's an incantation her for that."

"You couldn't have mentioned this beforehand?"

"I wasn't the one who didn't read the fine print… you really shouldn't decide to start a ritual while you're all worked up."

"Fine give me the incantation."

For some reason, I had a nagging suspicion that I had finally bit off a little more than I could chew.

 **Shoutouts**

 **Beaker47- True that! Here's to praying for Season 6, not some TT vs TTG movie thing they might be doing.**

 **Mochafraptor- All things can be improved my friend.**


	63. Chapter 63: Forever is Temporary

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 63: Forever is Temporary

 _I cursed the designers for the base as we crawled through narrowing utility tunnels._

 _It was understandable, after all it was the official base of the Justice League at one time, and you couldn't have kids trying to mess around down here, or villains having an easy time sneaking in, but at the same time, Nightwing was really struggling, and it wasn't like his waistline was as large as it used to be._

 _Canned goods were a commodity these days._

 _I on the other hand as a Racoon was having a fine time finding my way in the dark ahead of him, just in case there was anything waiting for us._

 _The dust was a real killer though, I wondered how he was doing without some sort of respiratory protection, as each time he crawled another inch he would kick up more pulverized concrete that had been sucked down here._

 _It was tedious, time-consuming, and overall horrible work, but we made it, pushing open a grate, we found ourselves in some sort of basement, which meant he would have to consult the only map we had._

 _Wiping away dust from his cracked wrist computer we both scanned the holographic document as its blue hue shed a dull glow over the room._

" _There," I said pointing to the map, an old service subsection at the front of the building, but there was no way to get to where we wanted without going through the main lobby._

" _For once I don't want things to get interesting," Nightwing said as he patted himself down, trying to shake off the last bits of dust._

 _I nodded, we had left quite a bit of our usual equipment behind to make our way through those tunnels._

 _Finding the stairs, we quietly ascended, only to find there was no longer a door secured in the doorway, instead, it was embedded in the concrete wall behind its original placement._

 _Nightwing said nothing as he took a point out the door, it was nothing special, just a hallway that had debris scattered all over. Everything from office supplies like paper and computers to spent medical supplies found their final resting place here._

 _As we walked along we made ourselves aware of the accumulating water that was dripping down from the cracks in the ceiling._

 _After creeping through the halls for a few more minutes we finally came to the main hall._

 _A massive hole had been torn in its domed ceiling, leaving exposed rebar to protrude like broken ribs through which a pillar of water now flowed._

 _On the once pristine and waxed floor, craters could be found where heroes might have taken their final breath in a battle that had long since passed._

 _The statues that had once displayed the idolized figures of the founding members of the league were either gridded to dust or destroyed beyond recognition from battle._

 _Graffiti littered the walls claiming they were false idols and fictitious saviors I took note of a more specific one…_

' _Gods die.'_

 _In all, the Hall of Justice had seen better days._

" _Looks clear," I said, but we didn't take that as a gospel truth, instead, we slunk around the very edge of the hall, sticking to the darkness._

 _When we finally made our way to the entrance we wanted Nightwing punched his access code into the terminal beside it._

 _The tiny screen flickered to life with very little power, only showing the words 'Access Granted' instead of saying it outright._

 _Heading deeper into the base we knew exactly where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We had played out this mission a million times in our heads._

 _Passing different public show pieces from offices to break rooms to even a library we descended through the stairs, all the while keeping an eye out for anything that might have made it through._

 _Reaching the fifth and officially lowest level Nightwing took the lead again, heading down into the situation room, complete with the iconic round 'JL' branded table._

" _I'm surprised no one got to this," I said as I dragged my hand over it, brushing off years of dust and debris._

 _Nightwing didn't say anything, he just went to the far end of the table, while I followed._

 _Getting on his knees he held out his hand, feeling around the part of the table that dropped to the floor._

" _Got it." He said with a small smile._

 _Tearing off a metal cover, I looked down to see a number pad, which. Punching in 6891, a familiar British butler's voice responded softly._

" _Please enter voice recognition."_

" _Kelly"_

" _Accepted."_

 _Sighing in relief he stood up "I almost forgot that," He said smiling._

 _I just gave him a grin, I couldn't blame him for Bing excited, happy even and I knew that this could be it, this could be the answer we were looking for, it just was a shame we weren't able to get into DC sooner._

 _Slowly, and with a pneumatic hiss, the top of the table began to rise, a massive piston pushing up one end like a giant missile silo._

 _Under neigh, a stairway greeted us, one that had the possibility of leading us out of this mess._

 _Nightwing took the first steps, he walked down slowly, like he didn't want to keep moving, but after a while, he picked up his pace, and it was necessary because we were passing through a massive amount of concrete, multiple meters of it in fact._

 _But we weren't disappointed._

 _What greeted us was just what we wanted, sprawling out in what felt like a football field was an armory of collects artifacts, weaponry, and gadgets, the league had otherwise found, retired, or confiscated over its lifespan, but only one intrigued us now._

 _We spent hours searching for it, it wasn't as simple as you might guess for just two men using only their eyes, it was amazing that no one had cataloged the collection or where everything was, that's what we believed anyway._

 _We split up and after searching through mountains of ice rays, laughing fish, and enchanted swords Nightwing hadn't called out anything._

 _Calling through my communicator didn't get me a response either, however, there was a simple solution, morphing into a sparrow I soared over the stockpile looking for my companion._

 _It was hard to spot him because he was just standing there, immobile, just staring at something._

 _Landing I strolled up to him, wondering why he hadn't acknowledged me._

 _It was only before I was about to clasp him on the shoulder did I see what he was staring at._

 _There sitting before him was a cosmic treadmill, with spare flash rings resting on top._

" _Dick…"_

" _Do you remember, the last time we had pizza?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _In Jump, we said we wouldn't disband the team, we said it would last forever."_

 _The side of my lip curled softly "How long is forever anyway?"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Not nearly long enough."_

 _Finally patting him on the should I tried to steer him away from the object that had held his obsession for so long._

" _C'mon, if this works… we can get pizza, first thing."_

 _It was then that I saw it, out of the corner of my vision, the giant gold chest plate we had been searching for._

" _There it is!" I nearly shouted, I could only see the back, it was buried under a pile of Apokaluptian armaments left over from the last failed invasion, one I hadn't been present for._

 _Digging it out we found the necessary gauntlets required to activate it. We rolled Warp's cheekpiece over only to have it drained all our excitement in one moment as we examined the front._

 _Battle damage had taken its toll on the plate, circuitry had been exposed as the armor plating had been stripped away. Multiple dents and cracks had formed all throughout like Warp had been hit with a massive blow to the chest._

 _The, for the most part, the circuits looked fine, but there was one glaring problem._

 _A giant crack had formed in the center of the lens for the Vortex Generator._

 _But assuming it would work, we could end this all before it ever started._

 _Slipping on one of the gauntlets I went through the startup procedure._

" _Does it still have juice?" Nightwing asked._

 _I nodded, but it would only have so for one, possibly 2 jumps, that was if it worked._

" _What date again?" I asked, looking over the controls, ready to punch in any handful of dates._

" _When we got back from Tokyo, just like we discussed," Nightwing said, resting the chest piece up on more material._

 _Typing in the specifics I nodded. Standing up I walked over to him, hoping for the best._

" _Ready?" I asked him_

 _He merely nodded in response._

 _Pressing the button, the chest plate came to life, all the exposed circuity lit up while the centerpiece flickered for a moment before becoming a steady light._

 _For a few moments it just sat there, powering up, I looked at Nightwing who might as well have been jumping up and down in excitement,_

 _It took so long that when the beam finally shot out of the chest plate I almost flinched out of surprise and when the portal began to form, well… we were both beyond words._

 _It was so simple, a doorway that all we had to do was walk thought, and we could make things right. Nightwing took the first step towards it, readying himself to jump thought as the last of the beam left the chest piece._

 _For a moment it was there, a glimpse into the past, but it seemed that our dreams weren't meant to become reality._

 _The portal flickered, warping itself out of its' perfect sphere, convulsing and pulsating violently._

" _Dick?" I asked eyeing the globe of light currently becoming increasingly violent._

" _We can make it! Let's go!" Nightwing said as he started towards the portal._

" _No!" I sprang into action, grabbing onto him I held him back, bracing myself to keep all of his strength back._

" _LET ME GO GAR!" He yelled, thrashing and clawing at me as he tried desperately to reach the orb that had begun to grow larger._

" _It's not stable Dick, you won't make it." I pleaded with him, doing my best calm him down._

 _He just continued to claw at me, doing anything to get out of my hold on him._

" _WE HAVE TO TRY, WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!"_

 _I paused, cautiously thinking carefully about what I was going to say, and how he would react._

 _He would hate me._

" _What would you think Star would say?"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _His muscles relaxed, he stopped trying to get free, his entire will wiped away in that singular moment._

 _I looked back to the orb which was now beginning to grow in size, the objects it began to touch began to be engulfed in its light._

" _We need to go, now!"_

 _Practically dragging him, I began to run, up out of the storage faculty and towards the upper levels all the while a steadily growing white light followed behind us._

 _Throwing caution to the wind I sprinted across the ruined lobby, the light from the now massive orb lighting the way._

 _As I dashed out onto the massive stone steps, Nightwing gathered his strength and started to run under his own power, each of us jumped down numerous steps at a time, circle not to make a fatal misstep and slip on the wet surfaces._

 _The night was lit up from the orb which was not encompassing the building, drawing more than enough attention to our presence, which had the obvious consequences._

 _Before we could even get past the fountain a massive object slammed down in front of us, blasting us backwards._

 _Rising out of a crater, the towering humanoid's glowing red eyes locked onto us through the rain._

 _In an instant, a blast of yellow energy flew past us, the sound of hissing as the blast incinerated the air around it. Each droplet of water falling from the heavens glowed with the combination of yellow and white._

" _What the hell, was that one of Atom's blasts!?" Nightwing shouted._

 _I was too busy dodging another salvo to answer. I began to circle the humanoid, doing my best to distinguish which model type it was and how much trouble we were in._

 _The red eyes followed me as I kept circling it, its red eyes lighting the droplets in front of like a cascade of bloody droplets all the while I knew it's artificial mind was crunching data on how to deal with the situation._

" _Get it into the light!" Nightwing shouted, still picking himself up._

" _You got it," I yelled as I threw out a slash of dark energy from my ring._

 _The android didn't bother to dodge, it's artificial mind unable to compute what would happen next._

 _It simply wanted to tank the shot, but it hadn't realized that I wasn't trying to damage it, I was trying to latch onto it._

 _Before it could react, the entry surrounded it and latched on. Initially it tried to break through it, eventually, it might have been able to but with adrenaline pumping through my veins I was more than able to launch it into the white energy before it could._

 _The white dome that now engulfed the area made no sign to suggest it had been breached by the android, as I ran over the Nightwing I still though the robot might even appear again out of the whiteness, anything was possible these days._

 _When I reached Dick, the dome began to recede, it was slow at first, but gradually it began to quicken and eventually the ground began to shake from the movements of the energy._

 _As it shrank all that remained was a crater, everything it had touched was completely gone._

" _Glad we didn't hop in that?" I said turning to him._

 _He didn't say anything, he just stared at the empty crater in front of us._

" _Dick?"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Richard!"_

 _He blinked and turned to me, it was dark and it could have simply been the rain, but I would swear that there had been tears flowing freely down his cheeks._

 _Clapping him on the shoulder I smiled sadly._

" _C'mon man… let's go home."_

 **Thought you all might enjoy this little snippet into the past, I was gonna post Thanksgiving day to give you all something to read while getting away from relatives but I got caught up.**

 **Beakers47- Why thank you man, since you're the sole reviewer for the last chapter I'll give you a gift, ask me anything this chapter and I'll answer truthfully (probably), how about that?**

 **That's a wrap, folks,**

 **Until Next Time**


	64. Chapter 64: Hatred has a Name

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 64: Hatred has a Name

 _Weeks Later_

In all honesty, I always took advantage of missions to give heroes a communicator.

After all, what was Robin going to say? That I couldn't take my time to properly give something to a future ally of the Titans?

It wasn't that I hated the mission, I just abused its loose limitations.

However, I really did take my time to talk to Jerico, really explain how to use the device itself, not that he could ever tell me he understood, but that came with the territory.

After heading down the mountain, I made my way back to my part of the T-Ship, today should be the day… if everything was to go properly, and I was ready.

Going through startup procedures I was calm, this wasn't a time for second thoughts.

Blazing over the Pacific at an amazing pace the steady calm was interrupted from Robin suddenly reaching out through our coms and barking out orders.

I didn't panic, I didn't react violently, I just told him I would head off towards the nearest distress signal was.

Changing course, I felt the weight land on the aircraft and calmly proceeded to look behind me, Adonis was there latched onto the body of the aircraft, a blue portal closing up behind him.

Perhaps what was more intriguing was the fact he was simply standing there with a giant modification to the back of his suit before he saluted me and hopped off the aircraft.

Then I thought about it, they wouldn't have sent just one.

As that floated through my mind a giant pillar of water rose out of the ocean in front of me.

I felt the shockwave first while my body was held in place by the harness, but even I couldn't help the ship being torn apart from the sear force.

As I came to a crashing stop I felt the cockpit disintegrate around me, and a strange pain materialized in my abdomen.

Tumbling through the water I finally came to a top, only to find what was left of the cockpit filling with water, blowing off the canopy I stood up on the somewhat floating remains of the ship and did my best to balance myself.

By now adrenaline was fueling every twitch in my muscles and I was more than anxious to fight.

Looking out in the distance I saw the tiny figures of Trident and Adonis making their way to me, Trident doing his best to help Adonis through the water.

Standing up I felt the pain again, quickly patting the area without taking my eyes off the approaching enemy's I recoiled when my hand reached something that wasn't supposed to be there.

Slowly looking down I found I had a two-foot section of jagged titanium running straight through the left side of my admin,

That wasn't something I expected.

Quickly deciding it was best to leave it for now and deal with the menace in front of me I knew I was at a disadvantage.

Trident would be near unbeatable in water, and Adonis probably modified his suit for the ocean, that was what the pack was for, I had no support, no normal advantages, and a piece of titanium sticking out my gut with two powerful villains coming straight for me.

Guess they forgot that you shouldn't corner a wounded animal… they tend to lash out.

Waiting until they got closer I threw out my arm, a massive hand of dark energy reaching out.

Needless to say, the two simply couldn't possibly process that the changing they were sent after was now using a completely unknown power.

Latching onto Adonis before he could dodge I ripped myself off my almost submerged wreckage and towards him.

Frantically trying to get free, he never even blocked the strike from my other hand which had shifted to that of a beast.

Tearing through his armor, I carved out only the scrawny man-child and let the hollow metal shell fall into the ocean.

Turning to Trident who was firing off blasts of energy from his own weapon I threw down Adonis into the see after he apparently had passed out.

Using dark energy to create platforms for me to run across and keep out of the water I bobbed and weaved to avoid any of this attacks

Getting desperate Trident started to pump out his trademark clones, which began to spread out and create a crossfire.

Smiling I let the adrenaline do its job and block out the excruciating pain in my stomach which I threw up energy besides myself and push on faster.

Trident began to look even more worried until he finally simply turned and dove down into the water to his own element.

Frowning I shot out energy piercing the water and latching onto him just beneath the surface.

Hoisting him up and out, his clones continued to fire ineffectively against the barrier protecting me.

"Ju… Just what are you?"

I frowned and I slammed my fist into his face, causing him to lose consciousness, which had the added bonus of dispelling all his clones.

Tossing him back into the water I shook my head, it was going to take forever to get to the bunker.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

"ARGGGGGGGHHH!"

The sounds of me yelling reverberated across the bunker, the fact I had enhance hearing didn't make that fact any easier to deal with.

"C'mon, you bit…" Finally, the angle grinder cut through the second half of the titanium spike that was still resting in my abdomen,

It was about two and a half inches wide, and jagged all over, so pulling it out without assistance would be a bad idea, however cutting off the longer bits, that seemed like a good idea to first.

At least until I realized each vibration was transferred to my innards, which wasn't very pleasant.

Throwing on bandaged and any gauze I could find I took a deep breath trying to calm my body.

So now covered in sweat and leaving a massive blood trail in my path all I could do was wait for the remaining Honorary Titans to show up.

Though there was a single through that kept crawling through my mind, like a fly that wouldn't leave me alone and I couldn't bat away.

The Brain had sent completely different people after me, and they had put up more of a fight, so what did that mean for the rest of the Titans?

Did the entire roster get shuffled around? Who would I have to rescue the rest of them with?

But perhaps the most glaring idea was that I was responsible, there was no doubt, the Brain must have thought me more of a target, probably because of the stunt I pulled in Africa.

So, who was I left with?

Perhaps that was just the blood loss talking, after all even laying down on the couch I was still making a rather large stain.

I hadn't even had the strength to fix the lighting, so only one bulb hang over myself, just giving me enough lift to see my imminent surroundings.

And he must have loved that, because just off to the corner, the great big white smile was back, this time with two tiny white pupils.

He didn't say anything, he just watched, bobbing up and down, watching me on the couch.

Seconds passed into minutes, minutes into hours and as I slowly closed my eyes I realized something.

No one was coming.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

 _No one was coming._

 _It was only now that it had hit me, so hard and so true that I physically fell to the floor, not caring how cold or damp it was._

 _It wasn't too long for the tears to flow and the whimpering, broken mess that was my body to curl into a ball._

 _Part of me assured myself that they were still searching for me, that Robin was scowling down a map in his room, or that Cyborg was crunching data to find me._

 _But part of me knew the truth, the animal, that beast that had come to realize that after all this time, they couldn't keep searching._

 _So, I cried, I cried until I began to heave and my body shook, because there wasn't much else to do in this cell, I had already smashed my sink more times then I could count, I had overturned my cot and shattered my mirror, there was nothing left in this subterranean room but four concrete walls._

 _There was no one, no one that could help me here, no one that could shoulder any of the pain, no one to even keep me company._

 _That was the first time I had heard the voice, the sickly sweet, overbearing, predatory voice._

" _Gar…_ Gar _…" I heard it coo._

 _At first, I didn't pay it any attention, there were plenty of things they used to play tricks on me here._

 _But it persisted._

" _Gar… up here Gar."_

 _I did my best to stifle my tears and craned my neck upwards and there he was._

 _Two eyes, with piercing white pupils, and a smile that would rival the Joker's._

" _Now, now… looks like you could use some help." It said crouching down._

" _Here, let me help you with that." He cooed reaching his hand out._

 _I looked at it with only a fleeting moment of suspicion, it didn't matter anyways, what did another round of pain cost me at this point?_

 _You can't describe the feeling of the slightest bit of hope at that point, the closest thing would be how a man crawling through the desert feels when reaching out to a glass of water._

 _So, I reached out, I stretched and tore old wounds and crawled along on my belly leaving a crimson trail behind me as I inched towards him._

" _That's it… that's it." He whispered as my hand neared his._

 _And finally, at the moment of connection… I met nothing but air._

 _The great thing about rock bottom was there was no further you could fall._

 _So, I just fell back to the floor and rolled over to my back… it was fun while it lasted after all._

" _Don't give up on me that easily."_

 _That time it wasn't in the room, it was in my head._

" _Don't act surprised this is what you wanted after all."_

 _My right hand was the first to feel the excruciating heat, pulling it to my face I watched as it turned red, starting at my fingertips and crawling up my hand, like a wildfire raging across my skin._

 _As it passed over my wounds each of them seared in pain, but rapidly began to close._

 _Suddenly the same pain began in the other arm and my two feet._

 _I screamed, in both fear and pain, but it did nothing to stop the spread of the red against the green._

" _What? This is what you wanted."_

" _What are you?!" I half shouted half screamed out loud to an empty room._

 _For a few seconds, there was no response only the excruciating pain as the red scaled my neck and spread over my face._

" _I'm what you always wanted to be, an_ Apex _."_

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

I stood there, the two giant white numbers staring back at me, 52.

I told the six guards stationed outside to leave, they were going to be needed topside in the main mindscape, especially with the damage that had been.

Reassuring myself for the last time I entered in the security code.

Walking inside I gawked how much damaged it had already sustained.

Everything was ruined, it seemed that there was not a piece of metal that wasn't dented, twisted, or shattered, and at the center of it all, one red figure standing over Order, who was unconscious on the floor.

Turning to me he flared his giant smile, throwing out his arms he threw back his head. "Hail, the liberator!"

I narrowed my eyes, but he never broke eye contact, instead, he just began to walk around the circular room.

"What did I tell you, hmm?" He taunted while kicking loose scraps of metal laying on the floor.

"It's always the same with you, not willing to do what's necessary."

Rushing over to him I grabbed him by his cuff and shoved him against the wall, practically growling all the time.

"I _have_ done what's necessary, and you know that!"

"But you haven't let yourself become a monster like me, have you, you just can't move past anything," He said finally hiding his teeth behind his lips "you can't seem to shake that pesky conscience of yours."

"You talk about getting rid of me, but have you ever thought why you couldn't do it? Why no matter how hard you tried the best you two could do was simply lock me away?" He asked, no smile, not flashy looks, straight.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about those times, about those moments.

"Its because deep down, deeper than this place, deeper than you can go by yourself, you don't want to get rid of me, because you can't destroy the thing you made to get you through that next day, the one thing that pulled you off that concrete floor and willed you to live."

For a few moments, we just stood there, him pinned and me with my eyes still shut.

"And…"

I opened my eyes, releasing some of my grip against his cuff.

"You want something… no… you _need_ anything that's bigger than the Brain, but more importantly bigger than yourself to hate."

Leaning closer to me he pulled his head next to my ear.

"Because if you got rid of me there would be nothing left except yourself, and those two hands that choked the light out of their eyes."

*crunch*

I didn't even realize my hand slamming into the wall beside him, and I didn't feel any pain as the jagged metal pierced my skin.

There was something else, something even more terrible that I had in my mind's eye, and I couldn't turn away this time.

"Alright." It came out as barely a whisper and it put into motion things that couldn't simply be undone.

"Do it."

The smile came back "As you wish." He said shaking me off and striding towards the door.

"But…"

His footsteps stopped, and slowly turn to me.

"When it's over… it's over and I'll be putting you right back in here.:

He cocked his head to the side "Do you really think you could force me back into this cage?" He said incredibly.

"Yes," I said weakly, starting to collect myself.

"Without her, without… Raven?"

As soon as those syllables rolled off his tongue I lost what little composure I had tried to collect and he strolled off, his quiet singing reverberating off the walls.

" _The night begins to shine._ "

 **Oh, boy was that fun… let's see what's gonna happen next, shall we?**

 **Beakers47- Alright, that question is pretty much the basis of why I even wanted to write this, I am a sucker for time travel stories and everyone (no matter what IP) seem to just drop multiple paragraphs of exposition unceremoniously at the beginning of the chapter. I mean where's the fun? Where's the drama? That's kinda one of my pet peeves, but don't worry by the end we'll piece this baby together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, but if you're pretty into the DC universe I think you could get a lot of it off small details. And like I said I already have a way of straightening it out unless I get run over by bus,(You should see them around here) then all my secrets go with me *Insert evil laughter*!**

 **EnigmaProtocol- Why thank you, you must've enjoyed this chapter then.**

 **Man, I'm feeling generous, after all, this is the second chapter this week so go ahead ask some questions, we'll have ourselves a little Q &A, ask me… or ask the characters directly! Man, that would be cool, a little bit of Non-Canon fun? How about that!**

 **Until Next Time**


	65. Chapter 65:We are Monsters, Arent We Pt1

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 65: We are Monsters, Aren't We? Part: 1

This wasn't the first time Robin had been captured, that being said this was probably the worst experience he had thought.

In Gotham, it was typically only the two of them and that was fine, he knew what his mentor was capable of. He didn't have to worry about him. He wasn't _responsible_ for him.

Robin was responsible for these people.

Now, as each hero he had recruited into his network was marched in front of him, their leader, and turned into a human ice sculpture, Robin felt as if another knife was being stuck into him.

As he watched Aqualad being marching up and into position he forced himself to watch as the platform readied itself, glass raising out of the ground trapping the hero as Dr. Chang released the ice ray, freezing them.

Robin could tell that it was probably derived from one of Fries' designs, meaning the Brain's network extended well beyond just the Titans adversaries.

Those same adversaries that were all gathered down below the elevated deck they were currently situated on, cheering their hearts out as the line of heroes was slowly processed through the freeze ray and placed on a giant set of shelves like chess pieces.

Currently, each of the main Titans was immobilized right next to the machine, the best seats in the house reserved just for them.

Cyborg's head was simply disconnected and his body completely drained of power, Starfire was put in bonds that she was still struggling against, but by this point, Robin could tell that were developed to hold someone even stronger. However, it was Raven who probably had the most elaborate setup.

A multitude of ruins and dark artifacts were keeping her behind a white barrier if Robin had to guess the Brain had outsourced that one. Though only one person came to mind, that was a contact of his mentor's so it was unlikely to be him.

Raven was taking it better than Starfire though, instead of pounding on the bright walls, she simply sat there, cross-legged and meditated.

Robin was still waiting for them to drag in Beast Boy, but a part of him hoped that he had gotten away, that he would get them out of this. Another part of him held onto the fear that he wasn't here because for a more nefarious reason, perhaps he would end up losing another teammate.

"Tell. me. Robin. did. you. ever. Think. Your. Team. Would. Be. So. Pathetic?" The Brain said as Mallah carried him towards the main control area as Menos was frozen.

There really wasn't anything to say, what could he say? He had no pieces left, except for maybe on pawn, and even though Beast Boy was a good teammate Robin couldn't count on him for much else.

"What? No. Comeback. No. Witty. Response?" The Brain asked incredulously.

"You're pretty confident for someone who doesn't have all my pieces," Robin said, it was monotone, neither a hint of aggression nor submission in it.

"I. Have. Collected. All. The. Pieces. On. The. Table. Robin. Make. No. Mistake."

Just then a black portal opened up next to Mallah. Kyd Wykkyd stepped through with Angel by his side.

"What. Is. It?"

"I apologize," She stated, "but Adonis and Trident have returned."

"And?"

"They failed to capture Beast Boy."

"I. See."

"However, they claim that he was mortally wounded, and they couldn't recover the body."

Robin could practically feel the knife being twisted.

 _The Bialyan sun beat down on the team, Dick wiped his head, clearing off the growing sweat._

 _Taking a swig from his canteen he looked over at Wally, who simply gave the thumbs up._

The science was defending, Starfire stopped struggling, and looked at the messenger in disbelief, Cyborg began to shout at Angel while Raven just stared at her, unable to even speak.

"Is. That. So? And. Just. How. Was. He. Wounded."

"They said that he was injured when they downed his ship, they described it as a giant piece of metal that impaled him through the stomach."

Robin knew this was just to rile him up, for a moment he forgot his comrades being flash frozen in the background and instead put everything to tearing the ropes holding him down, and getting his hands on the Brain.

"That. Will. Be. All."

Nodding, the duo disappeared into the portal once more, leaving only them behind.

Robin used all his strength to break the ropes but to no avail, even as the last of the Honorary Titans were frozen he kept fighting, but he had no gadgets, no backup, and he had no plan.

The Brain finally turned away as the last Titan was placed on the shelf, moving towards the edge he simply looked out over the crowd, saying something that Robin couldn't hear, that he wouldn't hear.

Red tinted the sides of his vision as he kept fighting his ropes, he kept pulling and tugging, even as Cyborg was rolled forward, even as he was put underneath the machine, Robin watched. Even when Cyborg looked back mouthing something Robin couldn't make out.

The Brain called out to the crowd again, the chamber they were in physically shaking like they were all at a sporting event. As Starfire was rolled forward Robin's vision turned completely red

He growled, clawed, shouted, wriggled, did everything he could, as those clear wall came up around his teammate, but when she turned around everything stopped.

He memorized the moment, the single tear leaving a streak down her cheek, the roar of the crowd, and the small smile she gave him, one that sad everything was ok.

Then the beam filled the container, a white cloud hiding everything. Robin watched as everything settled and a statue that shouldn't have existed smiled at him.

Finally, he had had enough, everything rushed out of him, the empty container was all the remained and only then did the sound returned.

"ROBIN, ROBIN!"

A chant had broken out in the crowd, their impatience getting the better of them it seemed.

"We Want ROBIN!" he heard someone yell, but he was unable to tell who it was.

"And. So. You. Will. Have. Him."

Being brought forward by the arms of Mallah, Robin closed his eyes, he didn't want this to be the last thing he had seen.

"ROBIN, ROBIN!"

As he heard the walls ascend around him, he kept his eyes shut, and as he felt the first bit of cold touch his skin he kept that tear and smile the only thing he saw.

Ω¥¥¥¥Ω

Raven was alone.

On any given day she wouldn't have read into that statement, after all she preferred it that way. She preferred the solitude of the quiet of her room, or the feel of the breeze sitting atop the tower alone with only her thoughts.

But this was a different type of alone.

There was no one. Absolutely no one, that she could turn to, her entire team, extended or otherwise was on ice, she was the last. Even Terra had been placed on the oversized shelf.

The only exception was probably dead.

Dead.

 _Dead…_

Beast Boy had fought, Terra, Slade, Brother Blood, more than half the people in this room, he had jumped into hell and crawled back out with her on his back… they expected her to believe he died because he crashed his ship?

But she knew people, she knew those two messengers believed what had been told to them, the barrier didn't seem to blocker her empathic abilities, and they didn't seem like dull types.

But it didn't matter… if he was alive… the best chance was to involve the Doom Patrol or better yet the actual Justice League.

If only she could break these barriers, but she was experienced enough to know that these artifacts were plenty powerful enough to negate anything she threw at them.

That being said she stood as the platform keeping them in place was rolled forwards and under the freeze ray.

Looking out over the crowd the thought that this could possibly be her last memory slipped into her mind.

.

.

.

That was unacceptable.

She had not been dragged out of hell by her friends to simply stand in here and accept her fate.

That was where this anger was flooding in from, the thought of her friends and for the first time, she didn't want to control it.

"ARGGGGH!" She yelled, throwing out her arm as four glowing eyes grew on her face.

Again, and again she slammed her fist against the barrier, the concussions growing to a point that they were capable of being felt down in the crowd.

Again, and again, her furious figure resorting to slamming her full body against it.

*Crack*

There, centered in the middle of the white barrier, a circular crack expanding out like a spider web.

"Do. It!" The Brain instructed Chang, who was about to throw the lever, but it wasn't meant to be.

In an instant, the entire underground chamber was plunged into darkness. Each villain did there best to turn on a light source they had, while Raven simply stood there dumbfounded, the white glow of the barrier giving off enough light for the immediate area.

"Chang!" The Brain roared with Mallah turning on a flashlight behind him and his own green glow indicating where he was.

"It… It wasn't me!" Chang shuttered as he went to check the panels next to him.

Only a few moments passed before the sound started.

It was horrible, like jumping in pitch like a poorly played violin, it physically hurt your years, it was dreadful. That wasn't the worst part though.

It was laughing, it was like a cross between a hyena and some sort of lion and worst of all no one knew where it was coming from because it didn't sound like it was originating from anywhere.

" _Tell me, what do we have here?"_ something spoke from the darkness.

Raven watched in sickened fascination as a cry rang out from the back of the crowd, one that was quickly drowned out by the villains opening fire indiscriminately at the back of the chamber.

Flashes lit the room in a vibrant coat of reds, yellows, and greens as each villain unloaded his signature ranged attack, however, this didn't keep a few more screams from being echoed around the chamber as something wreaked havoc through the crowd.

Raven tore her gaze from the sight in front of her and readied one more attack against the white barrier. Yelling and putting as much dark energy behind the blow as she could, her fist connected with the already cracked brightness, and the barrier came crumbling down around her like shattered glass.

Mallah roared and charged towards her, clearly not taking the hint that when a demoness with four glowing red eyes meets your charge with unbridled anger, you should probably rethink your strategy.

Needless to say, Mallah was launched off the elevated platform and down into the chaos below to fend for himself.

"Alright…" Raven said with a twisted smile "lets, see what you fear the most."

The Brain did his best to wheel away, but darkness launched itself out from beneath Raven's cloak latching onto him and slowly dragging him to her.

For a few moments, it was nothing but Raven watching in sick satisfaction as the Brain was drawn closer to her, the only indication he was getting closer was his green glow and the flashes from down below.

That was until Dr. Light unceremoniously landed in between them.

Groaning he rubbed his head, "It's a monster, a total monster…" He mumbled to himself as he tried in vain to collect himself.

Looking around he finally noticed who he was between, by the green glow from the Brain and the red eyes which were now glaring at him.

Shrieking like a small child, he tried crawling away, that was when Raven finally saw that some sort of rebar was embedded in his leg, keeping him from standing.

She briefly thought to simply let him crawl away though, right now Light was the best source of illumination in the chamber. So Raven quickly send a tendril of darkness to keep him from moving.

"NO, NO not again, fuck, please!" He wailed, even though he wasn't even being moved. "Please, there's a monster down there, we need to run!"

Raven ignored him, simply returning to the Brain, but then something else landed in front of her, by the sheer sound of the impact it was massive, she could hear the concrete breaking under its landing as the blast wave ruffled her cloak.

The only thing to distinguish it was even there, was the breathing, labored and heavy, and those eyes, they glowed, but they glowed black somehow being distinguishable from the darkness around them, and inside, a white pupil.

Light screamed yet again, firing off bursts of light from his gauntlets at the creature.

When they impacted they exploded in light, clearly showing whatever was in front of her for a brief second.

Just by those flashes, she completely lost her connection to the Brain, instead concertation only on the creature and the picture she had been given a glimpse of.

"Amazing." She heard the robotic voice of the brain say behind it, only for his green glow to appear in front of him, meaning he had brought him there for a reason.

Slowly being brought up to the red eyes of the creature, another bolt of light came from the useless man on the floor, who was now moving farther away. The flashes seemed to have little effect on it, even as the red-hot seared flesh glowed in the darkness, he barely paid it any attention as the wounds seemed to disappear.

Instead, it bared it jagged teeth at the organ in a tank before it.

"There I got it!" A shout from Chang rang out in the darkness.

The world exploded into color and the true horror was realized.

It wasn't any creature Raven could recall, extraterrestrial or otherwise, but what Raven did know was it shouldn't have existed let alone belonged on earth,

The massive creature barely held a shape, sure it had distinguishable appendages, but other than the ones it was using to hold itself upright, well, it's body morphed, grew and shrank seemingly at random. It pulsed with life.

She could witness the muscle and flesh expand and retract beneath the skin as if it were a fluid, it was truly a fascinating sight.

She heard a roar and looked down towards the lower level.

Cinderblock in his foolishness decided he wanted a crack at the creature, it simply shot an appendage out of its side and collided with the idiot midair, smacking him into the floor completely shatter it.

The head was perhaps the most normal thing about it, those large black eyes contrasting with the deep crimson if its body and fur, horns grew out and downwards, almost like bullhorns, but the mouth was the most disturbing.

At first, she didn't think it was a mouth since it wrapped around the face where a normal mouth would be, but it extended upwards and back much to far to be natural. Sticking out of it all along its path were jagged teeth that pointed in all different directions.

But even as she took all this in the Brain could only seem to manifest one word.

"Beautiful." It spoke in its' robotic tone "Truly. Magnificent."

He clearly wasn't concerned with the fact that an ultra-aggressive… for lack of a better word, the monster was right in front of him ready to kill him.

Holding the trashcan with its' left hand; the creature raised its' right and hand placed one of its claws against the left side of the glass on top.

Retracting the claw, he held it here a fleeting moment before launching it forward, much like a pool cue, piercing the glass, and the flesh inside.

For a few moments there was silence, only when it pulled its' claw back out and drop the lobotomized Brain onto the floor was it broken.

Raven looked down at the chamber, her red eyes now dissipating, as the shock of the action took hold.

Everyone was gone, no one who wasn't left unconscious or immobilized was left down there, she was counting around thirteen bodied that wasn't moving, and she could tell even more were injured, judging from the blood on the floor.

Whether any were dead… that wasn't the immediate problem for here.

Now, that _thing_ was staring at her.

Only, it wasn't attacking, in fact, it was shrinking, it was slowly retracting in on itself, all those surprisingly healed wounds and all the appendages shrinking down to one thing.

When it was finally over a man stood there, tall and bare-chested while his skin was blood red. He had those same eyes, black and white.

However, he seemed so familiar, but also just different enough not to be anyone she could think of.

Then when he talked, I knew I had never heard that voice before, it was oily smooth, smooth enough to send goosebumps up her arms.

"Well, aren't you going to say hello Raven?"

 **Oh, boy I'm on a roll, basically because I'm evil and have wanted to write this from the beginning.**

 **REVIEWS!**

 **EnigmaProtocol- Yeah, but there's a reason, I'll explain later.**

 **Beakers47- Why thank you, sir, I'm loving bringing these to you guys, so your question, the Beast and him are completely separate, the Beast is an extension of Beast Boy, he's the animalistic side, while sentient, he's not that smart and he wasn't made by BB, he's just a byproduct. I'm not spoiling anything by telling you this because I already implied it throughout the story and finalized its last chapter, but our crimson friend was MADE (probably manifested is the better word) by BB. It'll be elaborating on it later, but any appearance of him throughout the story is the same entity.**

 **Just as a side note, I was never planning on explaining this in the book, I was wondering if anyone was going to pick up on this, but yes BB and Raven (which we just found out) locked him away (which will be elaborated and explains his mindscape, just wait you'll love it). I'm pretty sure I was consistent on this, but since the beginning I was kinda bringing that up, at the beginning, we saw him locked up, but in the 4** **th** **season, when Trigon is around it's kind of a counter to that, the whole thing was constructed by Raven so, it's logical that any similar magic or otherwise would bypass that(Note we didn't see him in Ch 18 when BB was huffing Slade's fear drug cause he's not a hallucination), that's why we see him in Raven's flashforwards with Slade in Ch 33, we see Beast Boy fighting him in Ch 40, and why Trigon can actually have him fight BB and be sustained outside his body in Ch 49. Then after he chips his soul with dark magic, that weakens the Prison enough for him to manifest and talk to BB occasionally.**

 **(Nothing I just mentioned is a spoiler)**

 **Man, I have been wanting to spill that for the longest time. There're other Easter eggs in the story, has anyone noticed? Oh well, I'm liking this Q &A thing, let's keep it up.**

 **Alright, I'll be back. Probably Friday night.**

 **Until Next Time.**


	66. Chapter 66:We are Monsters, Arent We Pt2

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Chapter 65: We are Monsters, Aren't We? Part: 2

Raven just stood there, completely dumbfounded, what was this thing?

He crossed his arms, giving me a bored look.

"Well? Nothing?" He asked incredulously, "I lobotomize the Brain and I can't even get a thanks?"

Raven stepped forward, readying herself if he was going to fighter her.

"Just what the hell are you anyways?"

He smiled, blaring those gleaming white teeth. "Who am I, who are you?" He said in a condescending tone.

His eyes narrowed, like a predator zeroing in on its' prey. Raven readied herself, but all he did was stroll up to what was left of the Brain.

Resting his foot on top of it, he rolled it over, looking down at the skull painted on the front.

"Hmmm, you know, I always hated this guy, probably more than you actually." He stated, while Raven looked on completely lost "after all, he wasn't a very nice host, while you stuck me in a five-star resort, by comparison, now that's what I call a good host."

"What are you doing?"

He snorted, glancing up to the shelves that stored the roster of Titans he smirked.

Launching himself faster than Raven could follow, she whipped around to find him strolling on one of the shelves, inspecting Speedy's frozen statue.

Quickly flying up she landing further down the shelf, blocking his path.

"I suggest you move away from him," Raven growled throwing out her hand showing dark energy pulsing from it as a threat.

He yawned, and proceeded to rest his weight on it, "Honestly, you need to just..." he said before readjusting his weight to push it off the ledge "let go!"

"No!" Raven shouted as the frozen statue fell towards the ground.

Launching herself after it, she reached out with her dark energy and latched onto it before it could hit the floor.

Gently releasing it she turned back to where the mysterious person should have been, only to find that he wasn't there.

"C'mon, couldn't you have had just a little fun." The smooth voice whispered right in her ear.

"Argh!" she yelled in surprise as she slashed at him, only to hit nothing but air.

"How dare you!" Raven growled, feeling that same rage flow through her once again.

Seeing him only a few paces behind her she launched herself at him, enhanced by her magic she launched arm after arm of dark energy to catch him, but each time he seemed to just summersault out of the way.

"You want to play?" Raven asked angerly while summoning enough energy to create one of her famous winged constructs.

Launching the bird at him, she swore she could see him smile as the construct impacted with the ground, creating a massive explosion of debris and energy.

Landing back on the ground once again, she waded her way through the enormous dust cloud that had been kicked up and shielded herself from falling debris.

Then she heard him.

"Alright, yeah!"

Dammit.

Once again, she launched another construct from where she heard his voice, only to pull up a shield to protect her from the shockwave.

But it wasn't over.

"C'mon, keep it up!" he seemed to cheer her on.

She did nothing to hold back that raw emotion flowing through her now, launching construct after construct, explosion after explosion rocked the chamber, causing all sorts of debris to fall from the mass of decaying material overhead.

When it was finally over she landed and narrowed her eyes.

*Clap*… *Clap*… *Clap*

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted, using her dark energy she fanned away the dust clouding the area, only to reveal a rocky, jagged floor that had once been checkered tile.

And only a few yards in front of her, the red man sat, clapping slowly while sitting atop a massive boulder.

"Oh yeah," he smiled " _That_ right there, was amazing, you gotta keep that up, let me see at that rage!"

"Son of a bit…" Raven gritted through her teeth as she sent one singular blast of energy his way.

Only it never connected… instead, it was batted aside, with a shield of his own.

It was dark, that was certain, but it was not trimmed with white, it was trimmed with red.

"That's all?" he asked disappointed, "the last time we had so much more fun." He said, a twinkle in his dull black eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven shouted, completely tired of his nonsense.

Flying towards him, she picked up a boulder and launched it at him only for her adversary to roll his eyes and slice it in half with a blade of red and black energy.

"Now you're just being childish."

Raven landed, not believing what she was hearing.

"Show me what you're made of Raven, show me all that anger, that rage that you got working deep inside you," he said with a smile "or would you like me to throw one of your friends off a shelf again? Just as an incentive."

"Screw you," Raven said as she closed the distance.

Jumping up to his elevated position she swept her feet low, but he was ready for that.

Jumping off the boulder he sent her another smile, like an invitation to see if she could even land a hit on him.

He was ready for the next punch, so much so that he grabbed her arm and flipped her on her back with amazing strength.

"You're really reliant on those powers of yours."

"You're one to talk," Raven said brushing herself off and getting back up. "How the hell can you use my abilities anyways?"

He merely threw out his arms and smirked: "I can't say I'm at liberty to tell."

Raven clenched her jaw and flared her four eyes "Then I'll just beat it out of you."

"Oh, now we're talkin!" He said flashing a smile.

Launching tendrils of darkness out from under her cloak Raven felt the hatred for this man flow through her, but there was nothing she could do about it, she had opened those floodgates to smash through that barrier before, and now she was either going to have to wrestle control of her emotions, or just see them through.

"Oh, you want to traumatize me like you did to Dr. Light?" He asked as he kept himself from being ensnared by the darkness.

"You'll find I'm a tad bit different of a monster than him." He said a glint in his eye as Raven watched his figure shift from that of a man into something larger.

It was almost revolting watching his body morph slowly, she had only seen Beast Boy's transformations before this, which seemed instantaneous, but this was graphic. All the flesh and muscles grew slowly enough to watch them, scales began to grow out of bare skin, and leathery wings sprouted from the mass of flesh's back, while his neck extended and his head deformed into a more reptilian form.

Then, she realized what it was and the massive dragon that stood before her gave out a deafening roar shaking the chamber and causing more debris to fall from the ceiling above.

Raven dodged and weaved as massive pieces of concrete landed next to her, and slashed through large metal ducks as they fell.

The fire, however, was something she hadn't expected.

Throwing up a shield she watched as the river of fire washed over her, turning the stone outside her shield red hot.

Finally, when it stopped she dropped her shield and watched as the creature flapped its wings, causing a hurricane of wind to sweep over her while she shielded her eyes and tried to stay standing.

Forming another construct, Raven launched it at the creature, only for it to be intercepted by a blast of its' own flame, causing a massive explosion in the center of the chamber.

Using it to her advantage, Raven rushed forward, gathering up as many boulders and pieces of debris she could before she reached the mythical creature.

With her hands dragging all the assorted weight behind her, she pulled them in front of her as she reached one of its' legs, cause all the collected mass to break the leg.

As it smashed the leg, he roared in pain and whipped around using the tail to sweep across the open room in an arc of destruction.

Raven was blown back violently to the far wall of the room while shielding herself from the wave of destruction.

Then it simply stopped, looking up the creature was gone, and instead, that same man just stood there, hands in his pockets with his head cocked to the side.

"You know, you're not as nearly as fun as you're gonna be…"

"What the hell is that even supposed to mean!" Raven screamed in anger as she picked up two boulders with her powers and threw them at him.

He just lazily dodged them, while rubbing his chin like he was deep in thought.

"Oh of course!" His face suddenly lit up.

"Wha…"

"Sorry, I was gonna tell you, it just kinda slipped my mind."

"Your little green friend? Yeah, he's kinda got a bad case of death."

In that moment, everything stopped, Raven's eye's shifted back to normal, her knees gave out and she rested herself against the closest boulder. That was another person telling her the same news, it wasn't a coincidence.

"Oh, c'mon that wasn't supposed to happen!"

"How?"

"Hmm?"

"How did he die?"

"Oh," his face lit up "well I would say it was a rather serious case of spike to the stomach, but," he said giving a rather micaceous grin "I would be lying if I said I didn't play my little role in it."

"After all who would miss out on those _fantastic_ screams…"

He never even noticed the impact of dark magic before he crashed through another bolder across the chamber.

Slowly he got up, his arms shaking slightly before he finally looked at Raven.

She stood over him, four red eyes staring back, with crimson skin to match.

"There it is…" he whispered before being hoisted off the ground.

" **What do you fear**?" Raven asked in a distorted voice with a sickly smile.

"It's nothing _you_ can come up with honey." He said while sending her flying from a blast of red and black energy.

Raven skipped across the ground, before landing on her feet, still skidding. Launching right back at her tormenter she manifested two different constructs, ready to launch them at him at a moments notice.

"Yes, YES!" the crimson man said as he started to run towards her.

"Show me some of that fury!" He shouted as he slid under one of the constructs, he never skipped a beat, even as the shockwave from the explosion went through him, he gathered dark energy of his own, not as elegant as a construct, but more a mass of unrefined power.

" **This is for Gar you bastard!** " Raven shouted as they closed in on each other.

The both launched their attacks at the same time, and at such a short range, it wasn't surprising to either of them that they both went flying backwards, as a ball of pure white energy exploded in the center of the chamber.

Raven landed hard, the explosion had sent shockwaves that rattled her lungs. She could feel the effects to the explosion well after her landing and when she opened her eyes, she was lucky to roll to the side fast enough to not get crushed by another metal duct.

Brushing herself off she saw her cape was tattered, and her leotard torn in several places, though not enough that her decency was compromised. She had an assortment of scraps and cuts from the fight, but she was sure it would all heal in a few days.

This was nothing.

She coughed from inhaling the pulverized dust that was still lingering in the air and her eyes watered from it, but she was prepared with a shield when a gust of air blew it all away.

There with his knee propped up on the remains of a metal duct stood that creature, it just wasn't right to call it human.

Raven found it hard to distinguish the blood from the skin, but she could see some deep gashes on the chest, but more disturbingly she saw them closing up, rapidly.

"There we go…" He said his giant smile finally getting to her "that's it… _that's it_ , that's the final thing, that's the core."

" **What are you talking about?!** " Raven barked, " **What do you want?!** " There it was, there was the question she really wanted to be answered.

He hid his teeth, pulling his lips together in a simply grin "Raven, Raven, Raven… we are monsters, aren't we?"

" **Huh?"**

"Look at you… I've gotten to _you,_ there's nothing tainted about rage," he started "it's the purest form of emotion, it's a hell of an anesthetic, and believe me… it's the real you baby."

" **What do you want?"** Raven repeated, growing impatient.

"What do I want?" He asked incredulously "Is it too much to see an old friend, one who thinks like me?"

" **I'm nothing like you, I've never even met you!** " Raven roared.

"Well, it's not _really_ you I wanted to see, but we'll get there." He said baring his teeth again "besides, I couldn't wait to see you this _beautiful_."

That was something Raven wasn't expecting, but it only served to power her anger even more.

" **You think… that you can murder one of my friends… just because you want to see me mad?"**

He held out his hand flat had rotated his wrist "More or less." He mocked.

" **Alright."** Raven launched herself at him.

"C'mon we both know how…" but he never finished, his throat being crushed under the enhanced strength of the demoness' grip.

Flying up over the chamber Raven drew him closer, even as he smiled mockingly through the pain.

" **You haven't** _ **seen**_ **me mad yet…** " Raven said as she began to spin, picking up velocity she finally released him, launching him down to the floor.

Landing at an angle, he was launched along the floor before smashing into a rather large chunk of fallen concrete.

Rushing down, ready to continue Raven slowed and finally stopped only to float over to him when she realized what had happened.

Blood rushed along the ground as it poured out of him, a little bit of blood flowed from the edges of his lips, and on the right side of his chest, a piece of rebar stuck of it, like a spear.

"That… was what I was looking for," He said still smiling. "but not quite what I had in mind."

And it was over, all the anger, rage… it left her, she felt the red skin fade, and the four eyes disappear, and she finally touched the ground.

"Oh, what a shame," He said rolling his eyes "seeing an impaled man stopping you in your tracks."

.

.

.

"Can I at least get your name?" Raven asked, finally speaking up as she looked over him, it was fatal and she would have to be accountable for it.

"Sure, ask the name of an impaled man," He mocked "but I'll humor you, I had a codename… A… Ah, no not that… ah, Apex, yeah that's the one."

"That's not a very good name."

"Blame the Brain."

Raven shook her head "All that for this?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Oh, you think I'm going to die?" He asked mockingly.

Red and black energy swirled below him, Raven instantly tensed up, readying herself, but he just shook his head.

"I'll be seeing ya." He said, slipping into a portal so much like her own "beat me next time and hold onto that anger." He said as his head was finally submerged.

All that was left was a bloodstained rebar, sticking out of a slab of concrete.

For minutes Raven just stood there, disbelieving what had just transpired, just staring at the same piece of rebar, before she tore her eyes away from it, forcing herself to think about the rest of the Titans.

Flying to the console she began to reverse the effects of the machine, slowly but surely each member was thawed. As more and more were freed they immediately began to release their fellow comrades from their own restraints.

Once everyone was freed Robin jumped down and found her collapsed on the ground resting against the console.

Looking out over the devastation that had been caused, and the Titans retrieving the immobilized or unconscious villains left behind, he turned back to her.

"Raven?" he asked, only getting the slightest nod from her "What happened?"

She looked up at him, completely silent, "I…" she swallowed "would like to go home."

Robin didn't pry, he just nodded, knowing it was probably best if they talked later.

It was then that Cyborg ran up to them, his head reattached to his body, "Look, some of these people are gonna need medical attention," he said side eyed "Raven, what the hell happened."

"We'll get to that later." Robin snapped, Cyborg just threw his hands up, knowing better than to argue.

"We'll get Harold to take us back." He said reassuringly, Raven just nodded, physically exhausted.

When the time did come to move, Starfire was the one that hoisted her up and supported her as the Titans and their prisoners all found their way through the portal, arriving in the main living quarters of the Tower.

Raven heard Robin calling out to the villains about medical treatment, but Cyborg walked with her and Star back to the infirmary, there was no way they were going to treat them at the tower.

Raven seemed to drag her feet, it wasn't the exhaustion, they all were, after all, there was one team member still missing.

"When you are all better we will find friend Beast Boy," Starfire said cheerfully, but Cyborg frowned.

"I'm not saying we won't look Star, but everyone destroyed their communicator, that probably includes Beast Boy too," Cyborg frowned, seeing he upset Starfire he continued "I don't think we should have high hopes is all I'm saying."

They continued to the infirmary in silence, after all, there wasn't much they wanted to talk about. Raven wasn't exactly looking forward to getting subjected to tests from Cyborg either.

It was only when the infirmary doors opened did they have something to talk about.

"ARGHHH!"

A green changeling stood there, his eye's wide as saucers with a roll of bandages in hand and more than a few wrappings around his waist, which were soaked in red.

"You guys are alive!" He said stumbling towards them, holding his side in obvious pain.

"You're…you're here…" Raven stuttered in disbelief.

"Yeah, where else…" he was cut off by a hug from the demoness, light enough not to cause him pain, followed by Starfire and Cyborg's arms wrapping around him as well.

"Alright his is…"

"We thought you were dead!"

"They said you had a metal rod embedded in your stomach and died!" Starfire said, shakenly.

Beast Boy chuckled "Yeah… that's half true."

Pulling away he smiled sheepishly at Cyborg "I'm probably gonna pass out now." He said, his knees buckling. Cyborg was fast enough to catch him though and laid him out on one of the medical beds.

"I'm gonna have to prep him for surgery." He stated as he unwrapped the bandaged and looked at the damaged that had been done.

"I shall tell everyone he is here!" Starfire exclaimed as she rushed out the doors and towards the common areas.

Raven smiled and laid down on her bed, she was going to need sleep, after everything today, after dealing with this _Apex_ she just needed to heal herself, and meditate, but first, she was going to sleep.

Looking over one last time at Beast Boy being given anesthetic and Cyborg preparing himself, she smiled, after all, everything was going to be alright.

Ω¥¥¥¥¥Ω

Robin couldn't sleep.

It wasn't that he was used to being a night owl, which he most certainly was. He just wasn't tired.

Everyone had left, the Harold had assisted in that, the Titans East went back to Steel City, and every honorary Titan got an express ticket back home through one of the Harold's portals. The villains had been bandaged and put into custody and the Brain had been handed over to Interpol.

Even Beast Boy was out of surgery and recovering nicely.

The only thing that hadn't been taken care of was the story. Raven was still resting and everyone was dying to know how every single one of the villains had ether scattered or been severely injured. More disturbing however was the fact that the Brain had been lobotomized.

Robin was sure Raven wasn't capable of doing that. Well, she was capable, just not willing to do that.

Simply all of it didn't add up, and from Raven's reaction whatever had happened beneath Paris had to have been quite the event, if all the destruction was anything to go by.

None of this was what kept him up however, he hadn't lost another teammate, the Titans were still alive and technically they had won the day, but there was the problem.

They had come so close, they had skipped along the surface of oblivion and whose fault was that. He was a leader, he was at the end of the day responsible for these, for lack of a better word, kids.

If he couldn't do something as simple as keeping the Brain from hijacking the communicators, then why did he even deserve to be in change in the first place.

At the end of the day, all this was riding on him to lead these people and it didn't seem like he was going to be improving his track record of leading teams.

He just hoped Wally didn't call to say 'I told you so', it seemed his blatant refusal to join as an honorary Titan had paid off.

All those thoughts keep going through his head as he found his ways through the halls of the tower.

He needed something to drink anyways.

Heading towards the commons, he heard the rain outside and could see the lightning flash through the small cracks in between doors lining the hallways.

When he finally reached the commons the door opened, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Someone was here and he had a suspicion who.

Walking down the steps to the main floor he crossed his arms.

A flash of lightning lit the room revealing a towering figure just in from of the glass, two glowing white eyes, shining out of the darkness.

Between them the only sound produced was the light trickle of droplets against the glass.

It moved forward, seemly gliding across the floor as its cape flowed behind it.

Robin felt a pit growing in his stomach, but also annoyance as he was going to be forced to entertain them, something he really wasn't in the mood for.

When the figure reached him, it still towered over him, he wasn't surprised, he really hadn't grown that much since he left Gotham.

"Bruce."

"Dick."

Another flash of lightning lit the room, revealing the distance chin and black bat crest which resided on his chest.

"We need to talk about Paris."

 **Wow, 4k words? We broke the record guys. An explosive finale to the season and I bet you're all wondering what happens next… you get your answer tomorrow.**

 **SHOUTOUTS!**

 **EnigmaProtocol- *Dumbfounded Lex Luthor face from Superman Returns and points to last 2 chapters* Red, Blinding smile, transformative powers, a shitty copy of Raven's powers… sick attitude, we all know who that is.**

 **Random Reader- I think everyone needs to give this man a round of applause for bingeing a near 150k story and chewing through 2 1/2 years of material** ** **in a night** , and thank you, sir, hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Alright… look for the update tomorrow and I was a man of my word, I said Friday didn't I?**

 **Until Next Time**


	67. Epilogue: Stained

**Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum**

 **Epilogue: Stained**

Did I think it would have been that bad? I don't really know what I was expecting.

Being able to see everything while he was in control, that's a better torture than the Brain ever could have put me through.

That being said… I couldn't but feel better now that we had dealt with him though.

Lobotomized… I remained anything but a killer in the eyes of the world, but I couldn't go back, not after that.

He knew me well enough to know that, so he set that copy out for them, even stabbed it in the stomach for realism. All I had to do was watch.

We were somewhere in Star City, it was some abandoned project that had long since been left to rot, perfect for me, who wasn't really wanting to much but hide at the moment.

So, I sat there, in some long-forgotten apartment, and shifting uncomfortably on that old sofa which I was 'resting' on.

My body was drained, he might have used it for a time, but it wasn't even close to being ready for what he used to for, let alone what he did, and what he was going to do in the future.

" _C'mon now, we had fun, didn't we?"_ He asked from the shadows.

I ignored him and took another swig of the Captain Morgan I had snagged, for the first time in a long time I had booze at the right time.

"You… not only… pulled out a weak Beast form... morphed into an oversized dragon… but you also had the audacity, the _audacity_ to attack Raven."

"And I'm supposed to think of that as fun?" I asked, as I gingerly got up and inspected the items of the room.

He had moved everything here, all the irreplaceable stuff from the pocket dimension, books, ingredients, even the prototype suit. I checked for Malachor's book, only to find it neatly packed between a multitude of others.

The red crystal was there in its container, the Book of Merlin, he really did pack everything.

But those weren't what I was looking for

Digging through the crates I went over all the things we had left, or at least brought along, he broke the mirror, making it impossible to return.

He did bring the mindscape mirror though, that was nice.

Sighing I picked up what I was looking for, and laid back down on the couch.

" _Oh, but I couldn't help myself, I had to see that red form,"_ the smile said, his pupils swinging in the darkness.

"We don't hurt teammates!" I growled angerly. His audacity hadn't changed over the years.

" _You came to me, remember? I was laughing when I felt you doing your best to muzzle me during that fight, truly, without her help you're barely able to contain me, just look at your skin._

I begrudgingly had to agree, I was different now, I was tainted with him, and I wasn't able to revert completely.

" _Besides, I was toying with her, of all people you should know that much, I knew she was plenty capable of taking everything I threw at her."_

"She'll hate us…"

Every action you take has consequences, I came to realize that long ago, and this was no exception, because I was stained, no longer green, instead, a deep and true red.

"I don't need you anymore," I growled I didn't want him here, I didn't need him here, but I was forced to see that damned smiled floating in the dark.

He wasn't leaving me, I couldn't drive him back into his prison, and I was just going to just have to deal with him, it was a warranted fate.

After all, I was the sole person responsible for this mess.

" _Ah, don't be so hard on yourself, now we have free reign, we can do as we please…"_ He said not seeming to care about his actions _"you're not one of them, we've been forged for greater things Gar… it's been a long time since we could call that tower home."_

I shook my head, this wasn't how I wanted to leave them. I wanted to help them, guide them down a path that where they could enjoy their long lives. I wanted to watch over them, and give them the kind of life that was stripped away from them in my lifetime.

But that just wasn't meant to be apparently.

" _So, what's first?_ " he asked, either legitimately having an interest in my plans or just wanting to criticize them.

It was strange, having someone there that could understand what I wanted to do. After all, he was apart of me, and I wasn't getting rid of him anytime soon.

"We fight…"

Looking down at the object I had brought over I sighed. Thinking back to when I had taken it from Professor Chang's observatory I couldn't still couldn't believe someone had just left it to him to be analyzed.

They had no idea what they were playing with.

Examining it I already knew what it was capable of, and even though I wasn't present for the invasion in the future, I would bet that it was going to happen in this timeline.

Running my hands over all the lines and circle the piece of Apokolipian technology began its signature tune.

 _Ping Ping Ping Ping_

I just closed my eyes and leaned back, trying to push the Motherbox's chirping to the background.

 _Fin_

Ω¥¥¥¥¥Ω

Ataraxia Praeteritum, Perdidit Futurum

Haunted Past, Lost Future

 _Continues in:_ Contritum Aetheres, Detestabilis Cor

 **There you go folks, we got ourselves an ending, I hope you all enjoyed this ride of roughly 2 ½ years. As for when the first chapter will come out… well, expect it in a month or so, I'll probably finalize the first few chapters during winter break, I want to have a decent amount to be able to give you if I can't write one a week.**

 **As a bonus, if you can find any of my Easter Eggs I've sprinkled throughout the story just place your findings in the reviews, I'll be sure to confirm them in the next story, good luck!**

 **FINAL SHOUTOUTS!**

 **Plutonimus- Thanks for keeping up man, hope you had a wild time!**

 **Hall of Fame Reviewers!** **(in order of appearance)**

 **-The Dimensional Reader**

 **-Azarath** **_** **Cat**

 **-mochafraptor**

 **-Beakers47**

 **\- Plutonimus**

 **\- xzxzxzxzx**

 **-EnigmaProtocol**

 **Hope everyone had a wild time, I'll be pushing out the first chapter of Part 2 eventually, just keep an eye out for it. It's been a blast!**

 **Until next Time…**


End file.
